Tax on unfinished NH: BRS MLA slaps toll plaza staffer, netizens slam NHAI
The BRS MLA, in a statement, however said that he did not attack anyone and only went to ask the manager about why the toll was being collected
HYDERABAD: Bellampalli MLA Durgam Chinnaiah has courted controversy after he was captured on CCTV footage slapping a man at a toll plaza in National Highway 363 in Mandamarri. The legislator was enraged apparently by the staff at the plaza collecting the toll on the unfinished highway.
A video of the incident, which happened on Tuesday night, went viral on social media, prompting many netizens to criticise the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for allowing the collection of toll on an under-construction highway.
The BRS MLA, in a statement, however said that he did not attack anyone and only went to ask the manager about why the toll was being collected. Mandamarri SP S Pramod also said that no case was registered against the leader.
The toll collection at the plaza has been drawing flak frequently. CPI(M) activists staged a protest against the collection of toll on NH 363 on December 30, 2022. They alleged that the road-users were being fleeced as the bridge, 200 metres away from the toll plaza, was still under construction.
The staff were even accused of remorselessly stopping ambulances at the plaza until the toll tax was paid.