Man Stuck In Traffic Jam Misses Father-in-Law's Funeral: Blocks Toll Plaza As Protest [Video]

In many states, highway expansion and expressway works are currently being carried out. Because of this, the condition of the roads in many places is poor. This has affected a lot of commuters, especially in Kerala. We have come across several videos in the past where people were stuck in traffic jams for hours and, despite the bad condition of the roads, were still forced to pay tolls. Many have argued with toll booth staff in the past. One such video has now surfaced online, where a man sadly missed his father-in-law’s funeral because of a traffic jam on a toll road.

The video has been shared by Media4 on their Instagram page. In the video, we see a person arguing with toll booth staff. The location is the Paliyekkara toll plaza in the Thrissur district of Kerala.

We have seen many argument videos from this particular toll plaza recently. Most people travelling through this road often end up getting delayed, and many of them are frustrated. The reason behind this frustration is that, despite the poor condition of the road, the highway authority is still collecting tolls from users.

The gentleman seen in the video was one such road user who suffered because of the poor road conditions. He mentions that his car was stuck in traffic for over 1.5 hours before reaching the toll booth. Highways and toll booths in any country are meant to ensure the smooth movement of traffic.

However, it is because of the long queues in front of toll booths that most of the issues occur in Kerala. The man can be seen talking to the toll booth staff about the issue. He appears to be grieving and is so frustrated that he tells the employee to call the police and have him arrested, as he refuses to move his vehicle.

The toll booth staff tries to console him and persuade him to move his vehicle, but nothing is working. He mentions again that he has been stuck in traffic for the last one and a half hours, and due to the delay, he missed his father-in-law’s funeral.

He says that he has already missed the funeral and sees no point in continuing. He questions the toll booth staff about why he should have to pay the toll. The staff has no answer. In fact, several petitions have been filed in the Kerala High Court against the operators and the National Highway Authority.

Recently, the Kerala High Court considered a set of petitions and ruled that toll collection should be halted for four weeks. The petitions demanded a temporary suspension of toll collection at the Paliyekkara toll plaza, citing the ongoing traffic congestion along the Edappally–Mannuthy stretch of the National Highway.

The petitions were filed by Thrissur District Congress Committee President Joseph Taget, Shaji Kodakandath, and others. The petitioners argued in court that toll rates had been increased without fulfilling the original contract. Given the poor condition of the road, they stated that the continued toll collection is unjustifiable.