The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the Kozhikode District Collector to examine all complaints related to the functioning of the Pantheerankavu toll plaza on national highway (NH) 66 in Kozhikode and take appropriate action within eight days.

The directive follows a public interest litigation alleging misconduct by the toll plaza personnel, traffic delays affecting motorists and emergency vehicles, and deficiencies in safety infrastructure at the facility.

The petition, filed by human rights activist Noushad Thekkayil, cited a list of complaints from truck drivers, tourist vehicle operators, ambulance drivers, and daily commuters using the highway. According to the petitioner, motorists had reported frequent delays at the toll plaza, particularly during the peak hours, affecting the movement of goods vehicles and passenger transport services.

Ambulance operators were among those who raised concerns, pointing to difficulties in negotiating traffic congestion near the toll plaza during emergencies. Tourist vehicle operators also reported delays during weekends and holiday periods when traffic flow gets choked on the highway owing to the slow movement at the toll plaza.

“There are drivers who fail to use QR-code for toll payments. Such people may take time to make payment using other direct options. Some may struggle to pay it even by using UPI applications. Whatever be the situation, the staff should be polite enough to deal with all types of drivers,” said a truck driver who recently locked horns with the toll plaza staff over some technical issues related to the UPI payment. He added the staff should be properly trained in customer care service ahead of their joining with the toll collection team.

A few local drivers who earlier approached the traffic police with similar petitions also recalled instances of discourteous behaviour by some toll plaza employees during hated interactions with motorists. According to them, there were no proper supervisory efforts on the part of senior officials to ensure good behaviour among the staff, who were often compelled to answer public queries regarding poor road maintenance works even after toll was paid on certain stretches.

Some of the daily commuters using the inter-district stretch said recurring bottlenecks at the toll collection point affected the smooth flow of vehicles on one of the busiest sections of NH 66 in Kozhikode city. Lorry operators on the Kozhikode-Palakkad and Kozhikode-Thrissur routes also complained that delays at the facility disrupted their schedules many times and increased total transit time for no reason.

Responding to the complaints, the NHRC sought a report on the matter and directed the Collector to initiate immediate action in consultation with other stakeholders. The Commission’s intervention comes amid growing confrontations among highway users over inadequate traffic management, safety concerns, and operational issues at similar toll plazas. Meanwhile, the toll plaza operators, who declined to comment on the public complaints, said they would cooperate with the ongoing investigation and implement necessary changes based on the Collector’s instructions.