Rourkela: The Sundargarh Nagarik Committee will observe a strike on Saturday and take out a rally on March 19 in protest against the toll collection on the Biju Expressway between the city and Sambalpur.

There are three toll collection gates on the 170-km-long expressway. The gates are near Laing, at Masnikani and near Sambalpur.

The committee is protesting against the toll collection at the gates within Sundargarh district.

On Thursday, its members gathered at the Masnikanigate and stopped toll collection there. There is palpable tension at the spot on Friday as the administration has deployed police.

Committee president Ashok Das said the road was not completed, but the toll collection began.

He said: "At Laing and Sambalpur, the minimum amount is Rs 45, while at Sundargarh it is Rs 70. The NHAI rules exclude agricultural products transportation on shorter routes. But, the toll is charged here. The tractor rates at Laing and Masnikani are Rs 150 and 270, respectively." The work on the road is not completed, there are no lavatories, rest sheds or waiting halls for the travellers, he said.

The public works department's executive engineer (Sundergarh) P.K. Pradhan said everything was being done according to the agreement between the executing agency and the state government. On the completion issue, he said: "The toll collection can start once 80 per cent of the work is completed, and in this case, it is almost done."

The committee has declared a 12-hour dawn-to-dusk strike on Saturday in Sundargarh.

The strike will exempt the health services and educational institutes.