Bhatkal: Toll collection at the Hattikeri toll gate in Ankola taluk on the four-lane National Highway 66 has been suspended since Tuesday following a protest led by Karwar MLA Satish Sail. However, toll collection is still ongoing at the Kumta and Shiroor toll gates.

At the Hattikeri toll gate, Satish Sail, along with Congress supporters and local residents, demanded the cessation of toll collection due to inadequate highway construction and the absence of a safety certificate for the Binga tunnel in Karwar. In response to the protestors' demands, IRB officials announced a temporary suspension of toll collection at the Hattikeri toll gate.

Satish Sail stated, "IRB is endangering people's lives by opening the Binga tunnel to traffic without obtaining a safety certificate. Proper construction work has not been carried out in various locations, including Amadalli and Chendia, and necessary precautions to prevent landslides have not been taken. Toll collection should be halted until the tunnel is cleared for traffic with the appropriate safety certification," warned Satish Sail.

It is noteworthy that on July 8, Uttara Kannada district in-charge Minister Mankal Vaidya and Karwar MLA Satish Sail criticized the substandard work on the tunnel from London Bridge to Binga in Karwar and demanded a safety certificate from the National Highway Authority. Heavy rainfall in the past few days had caused significant water leakage in the tunnel, prompting Mankal Vaidya and MLA Satish Sail to question the situation. As no safety certificate was provided, the district in-charge minister instructed the Deputy Commissioner to immediately close the Binga tunnel for public use, along with suspending toll collection at the Hattikeri toll gate. However, on July 9, the tunnel was closed to the public while toll collection at the toll gate continued.

After three days of waiting for the safety certificate from the National Highway Authority for the Binga tunnel, Karwar MLA Satish Sail and his supporters staged a protest at the Hattikeri toll gate in Ankola today, raising the same concerns, resulting in the suspension of toll collection by the IRB company.

انکولہ ٹول گیٹ پراحتجاجی مظاہرہ کے بعد ہٹیکیری ٹول پر وصولی بند؛ کمٹہ اور شیرورمیں بھی ٹول بند کئے جانے کی توقع

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