Vehicles moving through the new toll booth at Lockhart near Devikulam in Idukki on Friday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

First toll plaza in Idukki opened at Devikulam

The facility has come up on the Munnar-Bodimettu stretch of the National Highway 85. A second toll plaza will be set up in the district within one year, said officials.

by · The Hindu

The first toll plaza in Idukki commenced operations on Friday at Devikulam. According to the officials, the facility was set up at Lockhart, near Devikulam, on the Munnar-Bodimettu stretch of the National Highway 85. The booth started functioning at 8 a.m.

The monthly pass applicable to local non-commercial vehicles residing within a radius of 20 km has been fixed at ₹330 per month. The fixed toll rates are as follows: cars, jeeps, and small vehicles: one way: ₹35, round trip: ₹55, monthly (up to 50 trips): ₹1,225; mini-buses: one way: ₹60, round trip: ₹90, monthly: ₹1,980; buses and trucks: one way: ₹125, round trip: ₹185, monthly: ₹4,150; heavy vehicles: one way: ₹195, round trip: ₹295, monthly: ₹6,505. Vehicles with more than seven axles: one way: ₹240, round trip: ₹355, monthly: ₹7,920.

A second toll plaza will be set up in the district within one year, said officials. “The existing toll booth will be shifted to Neriamangalam, and another toll booth will be set up in Kattappana,” said an official.

Setbacks

The road-widening works of the 42-km-long Munnar-Bodimettu stretch of the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway in Munnar had begun in September 2017. Meanwhile, many issues, including repeated landslips on the Gap Road stretch causing large-scale damage to property, have delayed the works. The Communist Party of India (CPI) Devikulam mandalam committee staged a toll booth blockade in November 2023 against building a toll plaza on the stretch.

According to officials, the vehicles heading to Thekkady-Munnar and Bodimettu-Munnar routes will have to pay toll in the new facility.

The Gap Road stretch of the Munnar-Bodimettu National Highway gained popularity with the translocation of a wild tusker locally called ‘Arikompan’ from Chinnakkanal to Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Thekkady. The stretch has emerged as one of the main road tourism destinations in the district. 

Published - October 04, 2024 07:30 pm IST