Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 15: Jammu and Kashmir Youth Congress leaders have expressed deep concern over the rising number of toll plazas in the Jammu region, stating that the BJP-led Central Government has turned the city into a “City of Toll Taxes.”
The statement was undersigned by vice president Advocate Ranjot Singh, general secretary Anirudh Sawhney, general secretary Happy Randhawa as well as secretaries Akhil Bogia, Dr Shohaib Manhas, Anmol Kohli and Mehul Abrol.
“Jammu, once revered as the City of Temples, was gradually reduced to a City of Wine Shops — and now, under BJP’s rule, it is fast becoming a City of Toll Taxes,” Youth Congress leaders remarked disappointingly. They stated that people are being forced to pay for poorly maintained roads, frequent traffic snarls, and highways that are far from world-class, all while the Government claims development.
The leaders also criticized the utter silence of local BJP representatives on the long-standing demand to either roll back or rationalize toll collection. They pointed out that the BJP, which governs both the Centre and the Union Territory through the LG administration, has no one else to blame. They questioned how BJP leaders could protest a system that is entirely controlled by their own party, both at the Centre and in the Union Territory.
The Youth Congress leaders called on the Union Government to immediately review the toll policy in Jammu and stop burdening residents for basic travel. “The people of Jammu deserve better. We need to look into affordable access and better infrastructure instead of financial exploitation and brutal taxation,” the statement concluded.
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