HYDERABAD, Oct 25: Toll collection at Detha, falling within the remit of the Rahuki police station, often leads to quarrels and even a law and order situation between the staff extending no undue favour and users of the 60-kilometre dual carriageway between Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas seeking exemption and alleging overcharging.

Collection of toll for using the carriageway started on Oct 15 at Detha, where a fully equipped toll gate has been installed.

The toll tax was recommended by the provincial works and services department but commuters feel it was exorbitant.

The staff and commuters engage in arguments and quarrels almost every day. As many as six FIRs pertaining to violent reaction have been registered at the Rahuki police station since Oct 15. In these incidents, activists of various political parties or members of influential tribes and ethnic groups, or people related to some feudal lords or influential figures roughed up the staff and ransacked the toll collectors’ properties.

The HyPass Systems, the official operators of the toll tax collection gate, say that the government has already exempted all vehicles bearing government and armed forces number plates as well as those belonging to emergency services like ambulances, fire brigade, coffin service etc from toll tax.

Mohammad Rafique Durrani, the CEO of the firm collecting toll tax on behalf of South Korean Deokjae Connecting Roads (Pvt) Ltd, says that they also exempted 25-30 point buses of the Tandojam Agriculture University as a goodwill gesture.

HyPass executives say that unruly commuters damaged the temporary barriers and ransacked the booths furniture worth Rs4 million while protesting over the staff demand for toll payment. Recently, the agriculture university teachers, students and employees staged a sit-in for 4-5 hours on the gate at Hyderabad, dismantled the automatic remote-controlled barriers, ransacked the booths furniture worth Rs2.5 million and also roughed up the staff on duty. Denying that any road user was being overcharged or the rates were exorbitant, they said that the projects executed on a BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis in Punjab charged Rs150 from a car driver for 105-km Lahore-Faisalabad as against Rs40 for the 60-km travel on this carriageway.

The carriageway is the first public-private partnership project executed on a BOT basis in Sindh by the Deokjae.

Construction of the four-lane carriageway has cost Rs60 billion and provides facilities of international standards, they say. It will be fully computerised over the next two weeks and will also have censors and cameras whereas a toll plaza is to be built in the middle of dual carriageway where resting area, restaurant, emergency service centre are to be provided.

Two toll gates are under construction and two temporary toll gates with booths and remote-controlled barriers have already been installed.

The Sindh government has set a target of Rs1 million collection a day (24 hours) but only 40 per cent of the target is being achieved so far.