Anger among villagers in Delhi’s rural belt over the Urban Extension Road-2 (UER-2) toll tax is intensifying even as a panchayat of 360 villages held in Bindapur on Sunday decided to intensify the protest.
The meeting, chaired by Palam 360 Khap head Surendra Solanki, drew a large number of villagers, senior citizens, and panchayat representatives.
Speakers at the gathering said the toll tax had been “forcibly imposed” on farmers and common people and demanded its immediate withdrawal. Solanki told the panchayat that the issue was not just about toll charges but about the “rights of the common people” and asserted that the voice of 360 villages could not be suppressed.
The panchayat unanimously resolved to hold a mahapanchayat on September 13 at the Bakkarwala-Mundka toll plaza, where Solanki will preside. Organisers said thousands of villagers and youth are expected to attend, and a broader strategy against the toll tax will be announced.
“This is now a do-or-die battle,” Solanki declared, assuring villagers that their grievances would be taken up with the government. Speakers at the punchayat warned that if their demands were ignored, the agitation could take a more aggressive form.
Among those present were Chaudhary Dhara Singh (Pradhan, Bawana 52), Chaudhary Naresh (Pradhan, Lado Sarai 96), Chaudhary Samundar (Pradhan, Karala 17), Ranbir (Pradhan, Narela 17), along with local leaders Naresh, Surendra Dabas, Suresh Shokeen, Dharmendra Bakkarwala, Rajendra Pradhan and Jassa Numberdar (Pradhan, Tihar 28).
The villagers appealed to the residents to turn out in large numbers for the September 13 mahapanchayat, which they said will mark the next big step in their campaign against the toll.