Surathkal toll fee will be collected at Hejamady tollgate, NHAI issues circular
Seeks police protection to avoid law and order situation
Mangaluru: The national highway authority of India on Thursday issued a circular revising the rates of tollgate at Hejamady due to the merger of the Surathkal tollgate with the Hejamady tollgate.
"Based on the continuous request/demand by the Government of Karnataka, local public/VIP references, the Competent Authority has accorded Approval for the merger of Surathkal Toll plaza @ Km. 358.042 (near NITK, Campus on NH-66) of New Mangalore Port Road Connectivity with adjacent Hejamadi Toll Plaza @ Km. 347.180 of NH-66 falling under the BOT(Toll) project of Concessionaire, M/s Navayuga Udupi Tollway Pvt. Ltd. Accordingly, the user fee (toll) for Surathkal toll plaza will now be charged at Hejamadi Toll plaza by adding toll fee for both the stretches and present user fee rates." The circular added.
The NHAI also stated there might be chances of a law and order situation at the Hejamady tollgate and urged the authorities to ensure that no untoward incident takes place.
In view of the above facts, it is requested to provide necessary District Administration assistance/support including Police Protection. Please ensure that there will not be any law & order issues at Hejamadi Toll Plaza" the circular further read.
A car was being charged Rs. 60 for a one-way pass at the Surathkal toll gate and it was being charged Rs. 40 at the Hejamady toll gate. After the latest circular, a collective Rs. 100 will be charged for a car at the Hejamady toll gate for a single trip. Similarly, buses and trucks (two axles) were being charged Rs. 210 at the Surathkal toll gate and Rs. 145 at the Hejamady toll gate which is now revised to Rs. 355.
Heavy construction machinery, Earth Moving Equipment, and MultiAxle vehicles were being charged Rs. 325 at the Surathkal toll while being charged Rs. 225 at the Hejamady toll, with the issuance of the circular it is now revised to Rs. 550 at the Hejamady toll gate.
Light commercial and light goods vehicles were being charged Rs. 100 at the Surathkal toll and Rs. 70 at the Hejamady toll which has now been revised to Rs. 170 at the Hejamady toll gate.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
