Proving HT’s campaign to be a major success, more than 2,500 city residents have sent us signed petitions, seeking removal of toll plazas on the Gurgaon expressway. Also, 16,000 people have voiced their discontent over the plazas online or through text messages and missed-call responses.

These petitions will be taken to the Union road transport and highways ministry, and the Haryana chief minister.

With the Delhi High Court likely to decide the fate of Sirhaul and Kherki Daula toll plazas on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway on Thursday, this overwhelming expression of people’s will may see the departure of what has been designated as the Achilles’ heel of the sprawling city.

Megha Tyagi, a resident of Palam Vihar and a young advertising agency executive, who contributed to the HT campaign, said, “The toll has become an everyday toil. I wish the government frees us from at least one of the toll plazas.”

Even the administration echoes the popular sentiment when it comes to the toll. “It will come as a great relief to both the police and the people. I am always reminded of those days when the toll plazas had been made free for some time,” said joint commissioner of police (traffic) Bharti Arora.

“This city of infinite promises is a symbol of unbridled growth in all fields, but the toll plazas have wrecked the ship, cut through the sails and taken the wind out of them,” said Attar Singh Sandhu, general secretary of the Toll Hatao Sangharsh Samiti, a citizens’ body that has been waging a war against the toll plazas.

Genuinely concerned about their city, thousands of residents made time to participate in HT’s campaign against the toll plazas by filling out a petition addressed to the chief minister and the Union road transport and highways ministry.

The petitions signed by over 2,500 city residents from all walks of life and numerous text messages sent to HT’s message centre show that people want a lot more than just the removal of the toll plazas. What find priority in the red book of the people were concerns regarding safety and security, especially of women.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/gurgaon/All-eyes-on-HC-for-toll-verdict-today/Article1-1111095.aspx