Farmers stage blockade in Mysuru over bus fare hike

Farmers staging a road blockade in front of the Suburban Bus Stand in Mysuru on Thursday.

Farmers under the banner of the State Sugarcane Growers’ Association staged a road blockade in front of the Suburban Bus Stand in Mysuru on Thursday, protesting against the KSRTC bus fare hike.

Led by association president Hallikerehundi Bhagyaraj, the protesters raised slogans against the State government and the Transport Minister, demanding a rollback of the hike. The blockade continued for more than an hour.

Addressing the protesters, Mr. Bhagyaraj accused the Congress government of burdening the public with additional costs after coming to power by promising five guarantees.

He alleged that the government was attempting to offset the transport corporation’s losses, estimated at ₹24,000 crore, by increasing bus fares and putting an additional burden on commuters.

He urged farmers and citizens to oppose the fare hike and resort to non-payment of the additional fare as a form of protest.

He also criticised elected representatives for increasing their salaries while passing the burden of government expenditure on to the public. Ministers, MLAs and MPs should contribute towards sustaining the guarantee schemes from their salaries instead of resorting to price hikes, he said.