Rajiv Rahadari's tolls raised once again

Roads are a major lifeline of Telangana’s economy, especially owing to the fact that the state is landlocked and has no other access to the sea for trade. Hence, it is understandable that every price rise at toll plazas affects a large number of people and elicits a lot of criticism as well. HKR Roadways, which maintains toll plazas on the Hyderabad - Ramagundam stretch of the Rajiv Rahadari, has increased the user charges, putting an additional burden on vehicle users.  There are three toll plazas at Duddeda in Siddipet district, Renikunta in Karimnagar district and Basanthnagar in Peddapalli district on the Hyderabad - Ramagundam stretch. 

At Duddeda and Basanthnagar toll plazas, the toll for four-wheelers has been increased from Rs 77 to Rs 88, and from C75 to Rs 81 at Renikunta. Also the charges for trucks and buses have seen an increase of Rs 61 and Rs 25 respectively. All figures mentioned are for an up-and-down journey. The increase in charges is rather surprising since Rajiv Rahadari has been controversial for a long time due to poor maintenance and  almost daily occurrence of accidents. The state’s arterial highway has no bus bays or emergency parking zones leading to frequent accidents during night hours.

There have numerous cases of vehicles ramming into parked vehicles on the highway. Also, travellers frequently complain about the ubiquitous potholes. Ghanshyam Ojha, president of a voluntary organisation Indian Youth Secured Organisation (IYSO) which specialises in conducting programmes on road safety, said that he was shocked to see the sudden hike in toll rates.

He said that HKR Roadways had increased the toll indiscriminately. When Ojha contacted Basanthnagar toll plaza in-charge Raghu, he was told that the tolls are hiked every two years and that it was mandatory. He also told Ojha that they needed land for constructing parking zones, pointing to issues in land acquisition. When contacted by Express, authorities at the HKR Highway Limited control room said that they had increased the tolls on the government’s direction. If anybody wanted to complain they should take it up with the government, the official added. 

Rajiv Rahadari brainchild of YSR

The development of Rajiv Rahadari, a brainchild of ex-CM of united AP, YS Rajashekhar Reddy, began in 2011 and was completed in 2013. KHR Roadways Limited started collecting toll 2014 for the completed stretches. The contractors at individual toll plazas are allowed to collect tolls for the next 21 years.