Stephen Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network – Kasargod
Kasargod, Jan 15: The protest against toll collection at Kumble Arikkady on National Highway-66 turned violent on Wednesday night, with protesters vandalising toll gate cameras and damaging glass panes. More than a thousand protesters who marched from Kumble town in support of the agitation reportedly smashed toll gate cameras, damaged office glass, tore off the handles of toll booths used to stop vehicles, and pasted black stickers on scanners.
To prevent the situation from escalating further, additional police forces were rushed to the spot. Various youth organisations took out protest marches, and police stopped protesters who attempted to barge into the toll office. In view of the agitation, police had already been providing security at the toll gate since Monday. Despite this, over a thousand protesters participated in the protest rally held on Wednesday night, making it difficult for the police to control the situation.
Following the incident, vehicles are reportedly passing through the toll gate without paying toll charges.
Earlier, a meeting held on Wednesday evening under the leadership of district collector K Inba Shekhar, in the backdrop of the indefinite protest being led by Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf against toll collection, ended without any decision. It was finally agreed that the issue would be discussed and a decision taken in the presence of the state chief secretary during the ongoing legislative assembly session. However, as the matter is under consideration before the high court, MLA Ashraf insisted that toll collection be suspended until a final decision is taken.
The agitation against toll collection has been ongoing since Monday morning, with Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf staging an indefinite protest. Various political parties and organisations have extended support to the protest and have taken out marches to the protest venue. Meanwhile, the protest rally organised by youth organisations on Wednesday night took a severe turn. The protest committee has warned that the agitation will continue until toll collection is completely withdrawn.