Pawan Sokeen, 35, a private school bus driver from Dichaon Kalan village in south-west Delhi, skips the newly inaugurated Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II) to reach Mundka, even though it could save him over 30 minutes a day.
Instead, to avoid the Mundka–Bakkarwala toll plaza, which charges ₹395 one way and ₹790 round trip for his commercial vehicle, even on journeys under 7 kilometres, he takes a 4-km longer route through Neelwal and Hiran Kudna.
“I earn ₹40,000 monthly, and if I pay a toll of nearly ₹800 every day, what will I be left with?” he asked.
Like Mr. Sokeen, people living in over 20 villages, including Baprola, Neelwal, Hiran Kudna, Rani Khera, Mubarak Pur Dabas, Madanpur Khadar, Karala, and Mohammad Pur Majri, assembled near the Mundka toll plaza on Sunday, demanding exemption from the toll tax for those living within a 20-km radius.
The villagers, led by Surendra Solanki, head of Palam 360 khap panchayat, met Mundka MLA Gajender Drall, Matiala legislator Sandeep Sehrawat, and Najafgarh MLA Neelam Krishan Pahalwan, who were there at the site to pacify the crowd, and threatened to block the expressway if their demands were not met.
