A toll war between a ruling party MP and MLA in Guntur district has led to unrest within the YSRCP. The four-lane road to Narketpally-Addanki was constructed by Ramky Infra and Cube Ltd on a BOT basis with a tollgate set up near Piduguralla. The Narketpally Addanki state highway which was developed four years ago cost a whopping Rs 1,200 crore. Now, firms which build roads on a BOT model can collect toll for 20 years and also carry out the road maintenance.
However, after the YSRCP came to power, the companies have neglected road maintenance, and are collecting toll charges from passengers using the highway. The issue infuriated Guntur district’s Gurazala MLA Kasu Mahesh Reddy as he travels from Narasaraopet to Gurazala on this road daily. To make matters worse, apart from non-maintenance the recent heavy rains have totally spoilt the four-lane state highway causing potholes. The miffed YSRCP MLA summoned the representatives of both Cube and Ramky companies. He warned that if the potholes on the roads were not filled within two weeks, the Piduguralla toll plaza would be seized.
Who owns Ramky Infra?
The head of Ramky organization is YSRCP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ayodhya Ramireddy who is close to CM Jaganmohan Reddy’s family. Even, ruling party leaders are worried to point out the poor road conditions because of Ramireddy’s cordial relations with the AP CM. However, Gurazala’s young YSRCP MLA Kasu Mahesh Reddy has set a two-week deadline for Ramky Infra and Cube companies to carry out road repairs. The MLA made it clear that if the roads were not repaired, then the toll plaza near Piduguralla would be seized on November 29th.
Will the roads be repaired?
Ramky and Cube garner revenue to the tune of six crore rupees on a monthly basis through the Piduguralla toll plaza. However, when it comes to maintenance the firms pretend as if it’s not their responsibility. Since the YCP rule began in AP, not even a rupee was spent towards the maintenance of Narketpally-Addanki highway. Opposition parties have demanded action against the companies for the non-maintenance of roads and harassing passengers by levying high tolls.
