Toll collection has resumed at Nattika on the Kappirikkad-Kodungallur stretch of NH 66, triggering fresh protests by UDF, LDF and SDPI workers over alleged incomplete construction and the absence of clarity on the earlier suspension of the levy.
Police forcibly removed protesters who blocked access to the toll plaza on Saturday to enable collection to restart. The resumption came two days after tolling was suspended within hours of its introduction following protests that motorists were being charged before all works on the corridor had been completed.
The LDF protest was led by CPM district secretary K V Abdul Khader, along with CPI functionaries V S Sunilkumar and Geetha Gopi MLA. The UDF agitation was led by DCC president Joseph Tajet, AICC secretary T N Prathapan, KPCC general secretary Jose Vallur and Muslim League functionary C A Rasheed.
The earlier suspension had been announced in a video message by PWD minister PK Basheer after sports minister O J Janeesh raised the issue with him. However, reports cited in the matter indicate that no formal order suspending toll collection was issued. That has left unclear the administrative basis on which the toll company resumed collection on Saturday.
The National Highways Authority of India has maintained that construction on the Kappirikkad-Kodungallur stretch is complete. Protesters, however, allege that several components remain unfinished, including bridges, approach roads, service roads and drainage facilities. An earlier official statement quoting Janeesh had also acknowledged that work on some service roads and bridges along the stretch was incomplete.
The disagreement centres on what qualifies as completion for the purpose of toll collection. According to sources cited in the report, NHAI officials conveyed to the government that some of the works identified by protesters were not part of the original construction agreement. The officials maintained that toll was being collected only on sections completed in accordance with that agreement.
The issue has therefore extended beyond the toll plaza itself to the relationship between the highway contract, associated local-access works and the administrative process for authorising or suspending charges. For motorists, the immediate question is whether tolling can continue while access roads, drainage and other supporting works remain disputed on the ground.
In his video message, the PWD minister said he had directed the district collector to inspect the site with officials concerned, convene an all-party meeting and submit a report within a week. It was not clear from the report whether a formal direction had been issued to the collector, or whether the inspection and meeting had taken place before toll collection resumed.
NHAI officials did not respond to the newspaper’s queries regarding the resumption. The office of minister Janeesh also did not respond, as he was in New Delhi. The next stated administrative step is the proposed site inspection, all-party meeting and report by the district collector within a week.
