NSUI activists protest against proposed fare hike; stop a metro train in Delhi

The incident took place at the Vishwavidyalaya station of the busy corridor, connecting north Delhi to Gurgaon, around 12 pm. It briefly disrupted metro services on Line 2.

New Delhi, October 9: A group of NSUI activists protesting against the proposed fare hike which is scheduled to come into effect tomorrow stopped a metro train in its tracks on the Yellow Line on Monday.

The incident took place at the Vishwavidyalaya station of the busy corridor, connecting north Delhi to Gurgaon, around 12 pm. 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," an NSUI spokesperson said.

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.

The existing fare structure is: up to 2 kms -- Rs 10, 2-5 kms -- Rs 15, 5-12 kms -- Rs 20, 12-21 kms -- Rs 30, 21-32 kms -- Rs 40 and for journeys beyond 32 kms -- Rs 50. From October 10, for a distance of up to two kilometres, the fare will remain Rs 10, but for a distance between two and five kilometres, it will go up from Rs 15 to Rs 20.

Proposed changes:

From October 10, for a distance of up to two kilometres, the fare will remain Rs 10, but for a distance between two and five kilometres, it will go up from Rs 15 to Rs 20. For the subsequent slabs, it will go up by Rs 10 each, which means the maximum fare will be Rs 60.

PTI