Chennai: The recent steep bus fare hike has sparked statewide protests among students too, with many of them taking to the streets on Monday, shouting slogans and blockading transport offices.
The Student Federation of India (SFI) and other outfits demanded that the fares be reduced. Around 300 students of Government College of Fine Arts in Chennai formed a human chain urging the government to roll back the fare hike.
“Bus fare could have been increased gradually like other states instead of the sudden steep hike. Though concession passes are available for students, even the price of that would be increased, leaving train travel as the only affordable option”, said one of the agitators.
Protests and road rokos took place in several colleges in the state, including government colleges at Coimbatore, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Thiruvallur among other places.
At Tiruvannamalai, around 3,000 women protested in front of a government college shouting slogans and the students did not attend classes. In Villupuram, the agitated public did not allow the buses to come out of depots, rendering it the worst affected area because of the protests.
