Delhi University students protest Metro fare hike

Around 300 Delhi University (DU) students gathered outside the Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station on Thursday, blocking the entry of commuters at its gate number three for more than two hours demand rollback of the metro fare hike.

They gave Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) a week to announce a rollback.

The students lead by members of left-backed group All India Students’ Association (AISA) submitted a memorandum to the DMRC official who was came out to assuage the restless crowd. “If the DMRC will not announce to rollback the hike within a weekm we will protest outside the CM’s (Arvind Kejriwal) and PM’s (Narendra Modi) huse,” said Kawalpreet Kaur , president AISA, DU.

Amid heavy police force that was deployed at the metro station to keep the situation under control, the students also halted the traffic for hours. “Every step that the government is taking is making the lives of students difficult. Delhi University is a campus where students come from different parts of the country and they stay in places across Delhi. The decision to increase fare has added an extra burden of 2000- 3000 to their monthly budget and made it really difficult to carry on their survival,” said one of the protesters.

Echoing the sentiment, another protester, a student of Miranda Hosue, said, “I come from Rohinu and have to spend at least Rs 100 every day on commuting. The hike in metro fare is an overburden for students’. The protest is totally legitimate.”

Traffic affected

Amid heavy police force that was deployed at the metro station to keep the situation under control, the students also halted the traffic for hours