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Sangat paying toll tax for visiting
gurdwaras
WSN Network
CHANDIGARH:
Thousands of Sikh sangat are being forced to pay heavily for
visiting the holy places. For just travelling 10 km by car on a
quality road from Kiratpur Sahib to Anandpur Sahib, one has to pay
Rs 59 as toll tax. In fact, for traveling (up and down) from
Chandigarh to Anandpur Sahib by car, one has to pay Rs 82 per trip
in all. Besides, most part of the road from Chandigarh to Anandpur
Sahib is bumpy.
The first
payment of Rs 15 is made for crossing the railway overbridge at
Kurali, then Rs 8 near Gurdwara Parivar Vichora Sahib for crossing
another bridge and then Rs 59 for travelling from Kiratpur to
Anandpur Sahib.
The road from
Kiratpur Sahib to Anandpur Sahib and further Nangal town has been
constructed by a private company under the overall control of the
Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB). While people have to
pay money to travel to these holy towns in private vehicles, the
Punjab
government earns Rs 4 crore per year from this road. The company
that had constructed the road would pay Rs 60 crore in 15 years to
the Punjab government from the earnings made through toll tax.
Travelling to
these holy towns would become even costlier following the completion
of a road stretch from Ropar to Kirtapur Sahib being built under the
supervision of the National Highways Authority of India.
Though a good
quality road has been constructed from Kiratpur Sahib to Nangal, a
majority of the people who travel on the road just go to Anandpur
Sahib and Naina Devi. As Nangal is on the boundary that Punjab
shares with Himachal Pradesh, only those who live in that region
travel on the road up to that town.
30
April 2008
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