DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday announced that two toll plazas on the Ludhiana-Barnala state highway will be shut down on April 2 as their concession period is expiring.

Raqba (near Mullanpur in Ludhiana) and Mehal Kalan (near Barnala) toll plazas will cease their operations on April 2.

The 57.94 km-long Dhaka-Halwara-Raikot-Barnala state highway is located in the Ludhiana district.

To upgrade the highway, the Punjab government had approved a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme in 2007 and struck an agreement with Rohan Rajdeep Tollways Limited for the project

for 17 years.

"The company, referring to the Covid period and farmers' agitation, requested to increase the time of their toll operations for 448 days but the Punjab government rejected that request.

"So both the toll plazas will cease their operations and will no longer collect any toll from the public," Mann said in a post on X.

The CM said his government is not the one to rob people for the benefit of the capitalists.

"We are not here to give unfair benefits to capitalists and won't allow anyone to loot the general public after their toll operation period has expired," he said.

Over the past two years, the Mann government has announced the closure of 10 toll plazas at various places in the state.
(editor@dailyworld.in)