Kasaragod (Kerala) | Residents of Kumbla staged a protest on Monday against the construction of a temporary toll plaza on the National Highway-66 stretch at Arikkadi, disrupting traffic in this district.

The agitation was organised by an action committee led by Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf.

Over 1,000 people marched to the construction site around 10 am, damaged temporary barricades erected for traffic control, and blocked the ongoing work, police said.

Vehicular movement in the area was severely affected, prompting police intervention.

When protesters refused to disperse, the police used water cannons, but the demonstrators continued to block the road, claiming that the toll plaza was "illegal".

Traffic was later diverted to ease congestion, they said.

“The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways has declared in Parliament that there should be a minimum 60 km distance between two toll plazas. But the proposed plaza here is barely 20 km from Thalapadi. We cannot allow this illegal toll,” MLA Ashraf said.

He said the permanent toll plaza was supposed to come up at Chalingal, but as the second reach of the Chengala–Nileshwar stretch is yet to be completed, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) decided to set up one at Kumbala instead.

Ashraf said protests would continue peacefully until the NHAI abandons the move, and the matter is also before the Kerala High Court.

“Our agitation is above political lines. All MLAs from the district and the Kasaragod MP will join the protest,” he added.