The Congress party on Saturday staged protests at the toll booths on the Pune-Kolhapur Highway over poor road conditions amid the ongoing monsoon season.
The protests were held at the Khed-Shivapur toll booth in Pune, Aanewadi toll booth in Satara, Taswade toll booth also in Satara, and Kini toll booth in Kolhapur.
The grand old party demanded immediate repairs of the damaged highway and its service roads and cessation of toll collection until the work is done.
Speaking to the media, Congress MLA Vishwajeet Kadam said, "The Maharashtra government as well as the Centre should take immediate action and repair the highway, which is in a very bad state. Until the repair works are carried out, the toll collection must stop. The highway has literally been sieved. It takes six to seven hours to travel from Sangli and Kolhapur to Pune."
Senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan also participated in the protest. He said, "The number of accidents has increased during the rainy season due to large potholes on the highway. The journey is taking twice as long. The quality of work has declined due to subcontracting. Charging the full toll in this situation is like rubbing salt in the wound. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari should decide on this immediately."
Vijay Wadettiwar, Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, slammed the Mahayuti government and asked it to "wake up from its slumber." "Instead of just advertising, the government should pay attention to the roads in the state," the Congress leader said.
Other Congress leaders, including Satej Patil and Sangram Thopate, were also present during the protest.
