Travelling to Mahabs? Pay toll at one more point now

Travelling to Mahabs? Pay toll at one more point now

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:12.11.2020

Get ready to pay toll fee at one more point while travelling to Chennai’s most prominent and preferred weekend getaway — Mammallapuram.

The state municipal administration department has allowed the local panchayat to levy tolls on all vehicles entering or crossing the tourist destination.

“Though local tenders were floated in the past to collect user fees from tourists at an informal checkpost setup at Mammallapuram entrance, there was no accountability, So, government has issued orders in October to regularise this income,” said a Mahabalipuram town panchayat official.

Accordingly, private cars, vans and buses will pay ₹75, ₹100 and ₹125 each. Also, this is the only toll in the Chennai region to demand fees (₹15) from twowheelers. On an average, 700 two-wheelers, cars and vans arrive at Mahabalipuram on weekdays and the number almost doubles during weekends or festival holidays.

Therefore, if a family decides to take out a car for spending their weekend at Mammallapuram, they will have to pay at least₹175 for crossing three toll plazas (IT corridor along OMR, ECR Uthandi toll plaza and the new one at Mammallapuram entrance) for one-way trip. Another ₹100 should be spent on tolls in case they are staying there for a day. Similar toll fee collection points have been set up at Mangadu and other tourist locations in and around Chennai.

More than the toll fee, it is the long queues at tolls plazas and traffic congestion are what irks a section of the public. “Even after paying toll, we don’t see any facilities available to make the commute better,” said S Nirmal, of Thoraipakkam. Leave aside restrooms or emergency services, Mammallapuram doesn’t even have a toll booth. It is just a bunch of men blocking vehicles in the middle of the road and demanding money, he added. “Only now Covid lockdown norms have been relaxed and tourists are coming back. Levying tolls will definitely affect tourism,” said Senthil Velan, a hotelier from Mammallapuram.

A temporary worker of the panchayat collects toll fee from a vehicle at the entry point to Mammallapuram