Members of Kappalur tollgate opposition organisation walked out of a peace committee meeting organised at the Collector’s office on Monday as they could not arrive at a consensus.
After the organisation announced that shops will down shutters in Tirumangalam and nearby areas on July 30, the district administration invited them for the peace committee meeting to discuss their grievance in the presence of Collector M.S. Sangeetha and Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration P.Moorthy.
Kannan, a member of the opposition organisation, speaking to media after staging the walkout, said the officials were not accepting their demand to shut down the toll gate or shift to a new location.
“Mr. Moorthy says they will assure that local vehicles will not be charged at the toll plaza, but he was not ready to make it official,” he said.
Since there were no on-record statements for the decision taken in 2020, the National Highways Authority of India charged 50% of the toll recently, he added.
“Since the administration is not ready to cede to our demand, we have no other way than to proceed with the strike,” he said.