No Diwali gift, staff make toll free for 5,000 cars in UP

AGRA: Upset over a “paltry” Diwali bonus, workers at a toll plaza on the Agra–Lucknow expressway staged a silent protest by leaving the boom barriers open and letting more than 5,000 vehicles pass without paying the toll of Rs 650. Unlike most protests, this one was swift, quiet — and if you happened to be driving between the two cities for the long Diwali weekend — quite convenient. Around 10pm on Saturday, as Dhanteras traffic backed up on the expressway, every lane at the Fatehabad toll plaza turned green. No one was charged. No one was stopped. No toll was collected. The staff had raised the boom barriers and walked off, leaving at least 5,000 vehicles to pass through for what they said was “inadequate festival incentives”. The 21 toll plaza staff were protesting a “meagre” Diwal