Shimla, April 4 Traffic was disrupted as people arriving from Punjab staged a protest by blocking the road in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district on Saturday against a hike in entry tax levied on vehicles registered outside the state.
The BJP MLA, Janak Raj, who arrived at the scene while the protest was ongoing, extended his support to the demonstrators. He joined them at the protest site near Dehani and raised his voice against the government's decision.
Janak Raj said that he had previously raised this issue in the Legislative Assembly as well, but the chief minister remains adamant regarding his stance.
Terming the government's decision as unfortunate, he asserted that this move is not in the best interest of taxi drivers, private vehicle owners or the general public and is causing distress to the people of both states.
The protesters have issued a warning that their agitation will continue until the decision regarding the entry tax is reconsidered.
The state government had earlier decided to hike the entry tax on small vehicles from Rs 70 to Rs 170 from April 1, but later reduced it.
According to a notification issued here on Thursday, the entry tax for passenger vehicles up to 12+1 seater would be Rs 100, light commercial vehicles, mini bus and six tyre truck Rs 320 and 10-14 tyre truck Rs 570.
However, the agitators maintain that the chief minister had announced the rollback of hiked charges and still receipts of Rs 100 are being given.