Trinamool protests Railway fare hike

Activists protest against the hike, with the party demanding its immediate withdrawal and urging passengers not to shell out the extra fare

Around 3000 Trinamool Congress activists and senior leaders, including former railway minister Mukul Roy, today hit the streets to protest against the hike in railway fares, with the party demanding its immediate withdrawal and urging passengers not to shell out the extra fare.

Trinamool Youth Congress activists and some senior leaders, including former Railway Minister Mukul Roy, party MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, state's transport minister Madan Mitra, urban development minister Firhad Hakim and irrigation minister Rajiv Banerjee participated in the protest march from Sealdah station to the Eastern Railway headquarters at Fairlie Place.

Trinamool Congress general secretary Mukul Roy, who led the protest, said passengers should not pay the extra fare as they had booked in advance for travelling in the festive season.

"Centre's decision to hike passenger fares ahead of the festive season is unethical and illegal. They have not placed it in the Budget. We are telling passengers not to pay the excess amount if they travel during the Pujas. This is another burden on the people," Roy said. "We demand an immediate roll back of the decision to hike passenger fares and freight tariff by about 2 per cent from October 7 and also the proposed Kolkata Metro fare hike after the Pujas", he said.

When Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was Railway Minister, she had done a lot for the development of Railways, including its safety and security without increasing fares, Roy said. The Railways hiked passenger fares by 2 per cent from October 7 while the fares of the Kolkata Metro too have been raised, effective from October 18.