Maharashtra: Mumbai Motorists Heading to Pune, Konkan, Nashik 'Still Forced to Pay Toll' Despite Govt Announcing Waiver Ahead of Ganpati Festival
Since large number of Mumbai residents head back to their villages on the occasion of Ganeshotsav, MSRDC Minister Eknath Shinde had announced a toll waiver last week.
Mumbai, Sept 12: Motorists from Mumbai heading to Pune, Nashik and Konkan are still forced to pay toll despite the government announcing a waiver from September 10-14 and on September 23 in wake of the Ganpati festival.
Since large number of Mumbai residents head back to their villages on the occasion of Ganeshotsav, MSRDC Minister Eknath Shinde had announced a toll waiver last week.
The waiver was aimed at not only providing monetary relief to commuters -- who are burdened by the unprecedented surge in fuel prices -- but also to decrease congestion on the route.
Since the 84-km Panvel-Indapur stretch of Mumbai-Goa Highway is yet to be completed, the government decided to allow a free-flow at toll nakas to compensate for the congestion caused by the pothole-ridden roads.
The three tolls on the Konkan route, which were ordered not to charge the motorists are: Khalapur naka on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, Vashi toll naka and Urse naka. Meanwhile, four toll nakas on the Pune-Kolhapur were instructed not to levy the charge on motorists.
Commuters, while speaking to reporters, said the toll nakas on Mumbai-Pune e-way and Goa Highway said they have not received a written order from the state government to waive off the charges.
The Maharashtra government is yet to respond to the complaints registered by the motorists. A senior Public Works Department official, while speaking to reporters, said they are looking into the issue.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 12, 2018 09:25 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).