Thiruvananthapuram: The Cantonment police registered a case against 1,000 students of University College for causing a traffic jam for 30 minutes during a procession on Palayam- Statue road as a part of Onam revelry on Thursday morning. Flags of left-leaning Students Federation of India were waved in the rally, in which both girls and boys participated, that obstructed many vehicles including a 108 ambulance. The procession was taken out of the campus without taking police permission from Palayam to the secretariat accompanied by percussion instruments and dancers.
“The traffic on one side was affected first and when the group returned, they obstructed the other side too," said cantonment sub inspector B.M. Shafi. "No prior notice was given and hence we registered a case.” Staffers of 108 ambulance services said that their vehicle was stranded but said they were carrying a patient suffering from minor injuries. Some motorists claimed that it was “senseless” to hold a procession in an area which experiences jams even on normal days when there are no demonstrations.
SFI unit secretary T. Thaslim blamed a section of the media for making villains out of them for organising “minor” revelry. “Onam celebrations by students were turned into a grand affair as it coincided with the 125th anniversary celebrations of the college,” he said. Meanwhile, KSU described this as a show of strength after gaining power. “SFI was trying to tell people that they would do whatever they pleased since an LDF government was in power,” said KSU general secretary Binu Chulliyil. "There are attacks on rivals parties by DYFI and SFI everyday, especially, after Pinarayi Vijayan completed 100 days in office."
