DND flyway protest: FIR against 11 BJP workers

Noida: A day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers protested at the Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) flyway demanding that it be made toll-free, Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday registered an FIR against 11 persons.

BJP leader Vimla Batham and ten others have been named in the FIR.

The clamour for making the DND flyway toll-free turned louder on Wednesday, as BJP workers protested at the link road demanding that it be made toll free.

Hundreds of Bharatiya Janata Party (​BJP) workers staged protest at the DND flyway and blocked traffic for an hour, causing jams on flyway as well as connecting roads.

Led by BJP leaders Vimla Batham and Nawab Singh Nagar, around 500 BJP workers reached the flyway, which connects Delhi and Noida, around 11 am demanding that the toll be scrapped as its tenure was over.

They pointed out that the Gurgaon expressway toll, which started after the DND toll, had been discontinued, but the Noida toll continues.

A DND official told IANS that they have been "incurring heavy losses and have not been able to recover the cost", and hence, with due permission from the authorities, continue to levy the tax.

According to figures, Rs 428 crores were spent in the construction of the DND flyover, out of which Rs 20 crores were contributed by the Noida authority. As per the DND records, an estimated Rs 698 crores have been recovered so far.

According to The Federation of Noida Residents` Welfare Associations (FONRWA), toll tax collection to the tune of Rs 1400 crores has been made so far.

BJP MP from Gautam Buddh Nagar Mahesh Sharma had last year raised the issue of making the DND flyover toll free in Lok Sabha.