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Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists on Monday went on the rampage and ransacked the new toll plaza near the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) on National Highway 7 to protest against toll collection that commenced from Sunday midnight.
Around 15 activists, who arrived around 2 p.m., hurled stones at the counters, smashed the glass panes, furniture and electronic gadgets, including computers and printers.
The activists broke the doors of the toll counters, pulled out the chairs and threw them on the road, eyewitnesses told The Hindu.
The police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the protesters. They chased them and bundled them into police vehicles.
The police have registered a case and arrested the activists.
Meanwhile, there was chaos on the national highway as massive traffic jams were witnessed since early morning.
The toll collection staff took nearly three minutes to clear one vehicle and, there were at least 30 vehicles (cars, buses and trucks) in the queue at any given time in each of the five toll lanes. On a few occasions, they stopped the toll collection and allowed free movement of vehicles to ease the traffic congestion.
Sources in the airport said that because of traffic jams, taxis could not move out of the airport in the morning. This led to an unusual congestion at the terminal. There were also reports of some passengers missing their flights as they could not check in on time due to the traffic pile-up. Toll collection was suspended around noon after Minister for Home and Transport R. Ashok visited the spot. Bangalore's Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-East) B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda said toll collection would be suspended till the Minister held a meeting with taxi operators and transporters' associations and the toll collection agency.
After inspecting the toll plaza, Mr. Ashok said he would write to the Centre to shift the plaza, as its present location was causing severe inconvenience to air passengers and taxi operators.
“The Centre has not consulted the State Government on setting up the toll plaza. Nowhere in the country do airport-bound vehicles pay toll for using the road. This is totally unscientific,” he observed. Soon after Mr. Ashok left, taxi drivers staged a road blockade, seeking shifting of the toll counters. The police dispersed them and ensured normality. However, after a brief lull, the vedike activists attacked the toll plaza, taking the police by surprise.
George Joseph, a senior official of Navayuga Devanahalli Tollway Pvt. Ltd., said that as taxi drivers kept arguing with the staff and refused to pay the toll, there was a delay in clearing the vehicles.
