HUBBALLI, Sep 04: The 30 km stretch Hubballi-Dharwad Bypass (National Highway-48) from Gabbur in Hubballi to Narendra in Dharwad will become toll-free from September 7.
The stretch was developed by Nandi Highway Developers Limited (NHDL) and it was collecting toll from May 2000 and completed 24 years of toll collection.
According to a DH report, NHDL was supposed to collect the toll for 24 years till May 4, 2024. But, the NHDL had petitioned the union government to extend the toll collection owing to Covid-19 pandemic and demonetisation that has resulted in huge losses to the company. Hence it got a 49 days extension to collect toll on the bypass and it was supposed to end on June 23.
“Again, owing to losses, the NHDL applied for an extension of toll collection for the second time, and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had given them a 75 days extension till September 6,” DH reported.
