A toll gate near Dhauli. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, April 8: The model code of conduct for the general elections might have stalled several projects for the time being. But for tourists coming to the famous international peace pagoda and the Ashokan rock-cut edict at the Dhauli hills, the poll code has brought cheers.

Vehicles will now have to pay a nominal fee at the second gate of Dhauli for their entry as the tollgate has disappeared because the Dhauli Development Committee and the state tourism department could not renew the contract for the model code of conduct for the ensuing polls.

Despite opposition from tourists, city residents and tour operators, the two gates were operating till the first week of March this year, but now there will be only one.

Now, only the tollgate, which was constructed by the Odisha Bridge Construction Corporation, is in operation. The other one, managed by Dhauli Development Committee in association with the state tourism department, was collecting fees for parking and tourist visit.

This year, the tendering process for renewal of the contract could not take place because of the declaration of the model poll code.

The Odisha Bridge Construction Corporation has its own staff to collect fees from its tollgate. However, toll collection from the other tollgate was outsourced to a private agency, the contract for which ended on March 31.

The Odisha Bridge Construction Corporation tollgate collects Rs 15, Rs 7.50 and Rs 3.50 for each heavy, light and small vehicle respectively. The Dhauli Development Committee tollgate was also collecting a parking fee of Rs 10, Rs 5 and Rs 2 for each heavy, light and small vehicle. It was also charging Rs 1 for every person sitting inside the vehicle. So, if a bus was coming with 40 passengers, it had to tender Rs 50 at the second gate. However, tourists, including local residents, opposed to the collection of toll at the two gates.

There were allegations that the agency, which was engaged in managing the Dhauli Development Committee tollgate, was also collecting more and paying less to the council authorities.

Sumanta Subuddhi, who owns a kiosk near the Dhauli peace pagoda, said: “The right thing has happened with the poll code coming into force. We were demanding that there should be a unified toll collection, but no one was listening to it. Now, till the poll code is in force, the visitors will pay less.” Historian and author Prafulla Tripathy, who visits Dhauli regularly, said: “The state government should take proper steps after the elections so that there is a single-window toll collection from tourists. The present system of dual toll collection also gives a wrong signal to visitors coming from other states and abroad.”

The famous Buddhist pagoda at Dhauli was constructed in 1972 in the memory of the Kalinga war that transformed the “Chandashok” to “Dharmashok”. After the Kalinga War, emperor Ashoka became a great visionary in taking Buddhism to the southeast Asian countries. The peace pagoda was constructed at the site as one of the famous rock-cut edicts of Ashoka.

Bhubaneswar tourist officer Sashanka Rath admitted that toll collection by the Dhauli Development Committee was no longer possible as the poll code was in place.

A senior tourism official, however, added that once the poll process was over, there would be a meeting to take a decision on the issue of unified toll collection. As the works department had already taken steps on this, a mutually-agreed-upon toll amount can be decided with a share to tourism department to ensure infrastructure support in and around the historic hills.