MANGALURU: Demanding closure of the tollgate at NITK near Surathkal, various social and political organisations under Toll Gate Virodhi Horata Samiti , Surathkal, began an indefinite day-night protest on Monday.The contract for toll collection at NITK is set to expire to October 30 and the activists have been demanding its closure since then as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has set up another tollgate at Hejamady, located just 9 km away. As per the guidelines of the NHAI, the minimum distance between two toll gates on the national highway should be 60 km, they argued.Muneer Katipalla, convener of the Samiti, alleged that district MP Nalin Kumar Kateel had assured to close the tollgate at NITK once the tollgate at Hejamady was operational. However motorists were being charged at both points since three years.A decision to merge the NITK tollgate with that in Hejamady after the expiry of contract was taken during a meeting between representatives from the state government and the NHAI on January 3 this year. However, fresh bids have now been invited for renewal of the contract.Muneer slammed Nalin alleging that the MP had repeatedly failed to stand by his words and questioned whether he the district deserved a leader like him.Vijay Kumar Shetty, former MLA and Congress leader, lauded the protest as people cutting across political affiliations had joined the movement against the tollgate. He urged leaders to leave behind party politics and work in tandem for the betterment of the people.The Samiti has also taken umbrage to the proposed closure of the old bridge in Kulur across river Phalguni without facilitating an appropriate alternative for the smooth movement of vehicles.

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