Thousands of villagers from Delhi’s rural belt gathered on Saturday at UER-2 near Bakkarwala-Mundka plaza to express their displeasure over the toll tax being charged to residents of Delhi’s villages along the corridor.
The villagers from Delhi’s rural belt staged a peaceful demonstration, in keeping with the traditions of the Panchayat, led by the pradhans of the respective Khaps under the leadership of Chaudhary Surendra Solanki, chief of Palam 360.
In the Mahapanchayat held on Saturday, they raised the issue of villages around UER-2 and demanded that people be allowed to travel up to 10 km without paying tolls. They claimed that a similar practice is followed in other states for villagers and farmers who regularly move around their villages up to 10 km.
The rural leaders said their demonstration is not associated with any political party and is solely focused on the issues of villagers.
According to Solanki, in states like Rajasthan and Haryana, villagers living near toll roads within a 10 km radius are not charged tolls for limited movement.
Notably, the villagers have also demanded a U-turn near the toll plaza, just like other highways, to make travel more convenient for them.
Thousands of people gathered in support of the issue at the Mahapanchayat, which resolved that a demonstration would be held and efforts would continue if the government did not decide to abolish the toll tax for the concerned villages by September 20.
The villagers made it clear that such a toll tax has never been imposed on rural Delhi, and they will not accept it under any circumstances.
In the large gathering, the rural representatives made it clear that the demonstration staged on Saturday is not limited to the toll tax issue alone, but is a fight for the rights of rural Delhi, which has faced neglect for long.
They alleged that previous governments acquired land from farmers at throwaway prices, and now a toll tax is being imposed on villagers of the national capital.