JORABAT, May 24 - The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has started collecting toll at the Sonapur toll plaza on National Highway-37 from today even as the local people protested against it.�
Several organisations and the general public of Dimoria have expressed extreme displeasure against the opening of the toll plaza at Sonapur, as they feel that the government is working with a crushing policy during this pandemic without thinking about the concerns of the people.
Various organisations here submitted memorandums opposing the setting up of the toll plaza at Sonapur. Realising the resentment among the people, the district administration arranged a �closed-door� meeting with the organisations opposing the toll gate construction. The meeting was held in Guwahati with the officials of NHAI and other departments concerned along with the representatives of the organisations on February 21.�
The All Assam Tribal Sangha (AATS), one of the leading organisations spearheading the protest, boycotted the closed-door meeting and demanded a public hearing on the issue in the Dimoria area.
Ratneswar Ronghang, president of the Dimoria unit of AATS, said an issue concerning the general public is not appropriate to be discussed in a closed-door meeting with only a section of people. He demanded that the officials concerned must make people fully aware of all the benefits and disadvantages of the toll plaza.
It may be mentioned that the NH stretch from Khanapara to Sonapur has no basic facilities like ambulance, trauma centre, phone booths, parking spaces for trucks and buses, etc.
While talking to�The Assam Tribune, Rohghang informed that the toll plaza has failed to fulfil the basic norms.�The AATS and a few other allied organisations have threatened to launch a series of protests if the administration fails to meet with the locals and representatives of organisations in the region to discuss the issues. Ronghang informed that the AATS is all set to file a PIL in the Gauhati High Court if the government fails to organise the meeting within a week.
