Traders, Businessmen, Members of District Assembly, Lawyers and citizen staged a protest demonstration here on Saturday against the levy of toll tax over five busiest roads in industrial city.
Powerloom owners also staged a protest demonstration against the toll tax and demanding immediate withdrawal of toll tax, in best interest of the citizen.
The major demonstration was held at the front of Zila Council, where processionists raised slogans against the District Nazim Faisalabad.
Chaudhry Muhammad Hussain President District Bar Association addressed the protestors and said that Zila Council has arbitrarily imposed toll tax without fulfilling the requisite legal formalities. He declared the levy illegal and unjustified.
Representative of Anjuman Tajran Sheikh Muhammad Bashir said that toll tax was another attempt to revive Chungi system. He said that people had got rid of Chungi system after great difficulties.
He reiterated that the businessmen would foil these underhand methods to reintroduce the octroi system.
Chaudhry Abdul Hameed leader of Karkhana Bazar Traders said that the Zila Council was patronising their henchmen by awarding contracts for collection of toll tax on city roads.
He said that traders and business community would continue to protest against this high handedness of Zila Council.
Meanwhile Consumer Association (CA) has also condemned the levy of toll tax.
Aftab Ahmed President CA said that toll tax on citizen movement in and out of city was tantamount to restriction on free movement of the people and was thus in violation of the fundamental rights of citizen as guaranteed by constitution of Pakistan.
He further said that the toll tax would escalate the prices of essential commodities, vegetables and other eatable item thereby engendering price hike, and making the life of people miserable, particularly the poor sections of society who were already groaning under the huge prices of basic necessities.
The protesting circles also staged a sit-in front of the Zila Council, demanding immediate withdrawal of toll tax.
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