Mahabaleshwar tourists complain of double entry tax & traffic jams

Kolhapur: Tourists visiting Mahabaleshwar are facing double taxation — paying entry fees at both Panchgani and Venna Lake.Besides double taxation, the tourists have also complained of heavy traffic jams, stretching to around two to three kilometres — at the entry tax collection points. Many have claimed that staff collecting the entry tax at Panchagani lied to them about the entry tax being valid for Mahabaleshwar as well. However, sadly it was not the case.Omkar Jadhav, a resident of Baner in Pune, said, "After waiting for nearly 15 minutes, we were charged Rs 187 at the Panchgani toll where the staff informed us that the receipt is valid for entry into Mahabaleshwar as well. But after reaching Mahabaleshwar, the staff asked us to pay the entry tax again, saying Panchgani tax receipt doesn's work here. Had we known this we would have visited all the places in Panchgani first and then headed to Mahabaleshwar. However, we ended up paying double tax. The time wasted while arguing with toll workers and waiting in the long queue was also frustrating and spolit the joy of the trip."Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani witness a rise in footfall between Christmas and the first week of Jan. Sumit Dulani, a resident of Ahmednagar visiting Mahabaleshwar, said, "If my wife and I are heading towards Mahabaleshwar without stopping at Panchgani, then why should we pay a tax of Rs187 rupees and again pay the entry tax for Mahabaleshwar at Venna Lake. The govt is only focusing on collecting taxes, but what about providing quality roads and other facilities to the tourists. Many tourist points at both Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani are littered with garbage and gutka stains."Locals from Mahabaleshwar are also facing the heat at the two entry points. Suresh Shah, a restaurant owner from Mahabaleshwar, said, "We have to frequently travel to Wai town to procure business essentials. Every time, we have to wait in a long queue at the Dandeghar toll plaza in Panchgani as the toll plaza is located on a narrow stretch on the upper side of Pasarni Ghat. It is the same story at Venna Lake toll. This has become a routine on weekends."On an average, 10,000 tourists arrive in Panchgani on the weekends, while for Mahabaleshwar the number is between 12,000 and 15,000.Chief officer for the Panchgani municipal council Nikhil Jadhav, while talking to TOI, said, "We have given instructions to toll workers to not collect tax from the vehicles heading towards Mahabaleshwar or towards Poladpur. Also, as per the bylaw approved by the divisional commissioner regarding Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani, tax should be collected as per the carrying capacity of the vehicle and not on per person basis. Therefore, entry tax for four-wheelers, tempo travellers, and buses is charged as per their carrying capacity with an additional Rs 50 as pollution charge."He added, "Implementation of Fastag is on the cards, but for that, our proposal is pending with the Indian Highway Management Company Ltd. Once this gets approved, the amount will get deducted through Fastag and the traffic snarl will get reduced. We have received approval for constructing a boom barrier at the Dandekar toll plaza. The work will commence in a month's time. We have widened the road after clearing all the technical issues." Kolhapur: Tourists visiting Mahabaleshwar are facing double taxation — paying entry fees at both Panchgani and Venna Lake.Besides double taxation, the tourists have also complained of heavy traffic jams, stretching to around two to three kilometres — at the entry tax collection points. Many have claimed that staff collecting the entry tax at Panchagani lied to them about the entry tax being valid for Mahabaleshwar as well. However, sadly it was not the case.Omkar Jadhav, a resident of Baner in Pune, said, "After waiting for nearly 15 minutes, we were charged Rs 187 at the Panchgani toll where the staff informed us that the receipt is valid for entry into Mahabaleshwar as well. But after reaching Mahabaleshwar, the staff asked us to pay the entry tax again, saying Panchgani tax receipt doesn's work here. Had we known this we would have visited all the places in Panchgani first and then headed to Mahabaleshwar. However, we ended up paying double tax. The time wasted while arguing with toll workers and waiting in the long queue was also frustrating and spolit the joy of the trip."Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani witness a rise in footfall between Christmas and the first week of Jan. Sumit Dulani, a resident of Ahmednagar visiting Mahabaleshwar, said, "If my wife and I are heading towards Mahabaleshwar without stopping at Panchgani, then why should we pay a tax of Rs187 rupees and again pay the entry tax for Mahabaleshwar at Venna Lake. The govt is only focusing on collecting taxes, but what about providing quality roads and other facilities to the tourists. Many tourist points at both Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani are littered with garbage and gutka stains."Locals from Mahabaleshwar are also facing the heat at the two entry points. Suresh Shah, a restaurant owner from Mahabaleshwar, said, "We have to frequently travel to Wai town to procure business essentials. Every time, we have to wait in a long queue at the Dandeghar toll plaza in Panchgani as the toll plaza is located on a narrow stretch on the upper side of Pasarni Ghat. It is the same story at Venna Lake toll. This has become a routine on weekends."On an average, 10,000 tourists arrive in Panchgani on the weekends, while for Mahabaleshwar the number is between 12,000 and 15,000.Chief officer for the Panchgani municipal council Nikhil Jadhav, while talking to TOI, said, "We have given instructions to toll workers to not collect tax from the vehicles heading towards Mahabaleshwar or towards Poladpur. Also, as per the bylaw approved by the divisional commissioner regarding Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani, tax should be collected as per the carrying capacity of the vehicle and not on per person basis. Therefore, entry tax for four-wheelers, tempo travellers, and buses is charged as per their carrying capacity with an additional Rs 50 as pollution charge."He added, "Implementation of Fastag is on the cards, but for that, our proposal is pending with the Indian Highway Management Company Ltd. Once this gets approved, the amount will get deducted through Fastag and the traffic snarl will get reduced. We have received approval for constructing a boom barrier at the Dandekar toll plaza. The work will commence in a month's time. We have widened the road after clearing all the technical issues."

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