Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday said the toll tax levied on the vehicles on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway in South Kashmir, has hit the already economically downtrodden people hard and they should be exempted from the toll tax.
In a statement, PDP Vice President Abdul Rehman Veeri said that people from south Kashmir’s Kulgam and Anantnag are bearing the brunt of the toll tax as there are private as well as government employees who have to pass through the toll plaza set up at Charsoo every day.
“The government must exempt the people of south Kashmir and those employees who have to report everyday to their duties and for that reason have to pass through the toll plaza. This is nothing but an octroi being levied on people’s movement. The government has to roll it back,” Veeri said.
Earlier, traders and transporters staged a protest outside the office of Deputy Commissioner Anantnag demanding that no toll tax shall be charged from common people who are already suffering from prolonged conflict and shattered economy.
On Tuesday, after the imposition of the tax, people protested against authorities and called the tax ‘outrageous’.
