NSUI activists stop Metro train against proposed fare hike

New Delhi: A group of NSUI activists stopped a Metro train in its tracks on the Yellow Line on Monday, protesting against the proposed fare hike, which is scheduled to come into effect from Tuesday.

The incident took place at the Vishwavidyalaya station of the busy corridor, connecting north Delhi to Gurgaon, around 12 noon. It briefly disrupted metro services on Line 2. "NSUI Delhi president Akshay along with two other activists stopped the Metro due to the unjustified fare hike. We demand that the proposed hike be rolled back and students be provided subsidised passes," a spokesperson of the student union said.

"We demand that Delhi University students get passes similar to that which is provided in DTC buses. Metro passes are available in Kolkata in India and as well as around the world in major universities. We also want the hike to be rolled back as it causes a huge burden on students studying in other colleges and institutes across Delhi as well as working-class community and coming after a gap of five months and with the ever-increasing cost of living in Delhi due to GST, it is unacceptable," he added.

NSUI spokesperson, "This was not the first time when NSUI has tried to raise this matter. Prior to this protest, we had sought appointments from Hardeep Puri, Union Minister and Kailash Gahlot, Transport Minister, Delhi, but were refused. This shows the dictatorial mindset of both the Central and State governments as they refused to meet students who wanted to express their pain and anguish on the exorbitant fare hike by the Delhi Metro in which both governments have an equal stake."

The Delhi government has been opposing the fare hike with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal even offering to take over the operations of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The Centre, however, told the Delhi government it would need to pay Rs 3,000 crore annually for five years if it wanted to stop the metro fare hike. If the hike is effected, the fares will go up by a maximum of Rs 10.