NEW DELHI: Two days after the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) ignited a social media storm on X demanding concessional metro passes for the students across the capital, the SFI called for a large-scale protest outside the Transport Ministry on Wednesday.
The social media was abuzz with posts from SFI who shared posters and demands tagging Delhi Chief Minister, Transport Minister, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and even the Centre under the hashtag- #StudentsForMetroPass. State Secretary of the SFI Delhi unit, Aishe Ghosh, drew a parallel with the initiative by the L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited (LTMRHL) which introduced the ‘Student Pass-2023’ for the convenience of students for travelling to colleges, schools, and other educational institutions.
“We know how pollution is choking the national capital. More usage of public transport..more reduction in emissions... it’s all about policies that Govt. makes..” she posted.
The concessional metro passes have been a core issue of the students’ election since 2019. According to the ABVP leaders, all the formalities are complete.
“However it is just the government which is delaying the approval process unnecessarily. We even met LG in this regard. We have been taking up this issue time and again,” said one of the senior leaders of ABVP, DU.
Sanitation workers’ protest
Sanitation workers at JNU boycotted their work for the seventh consecutive day on Tuesday, demanding a Diwali bonus. Over 200 contractual workers, protesting under the banner of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions also demanded proper equipment for sanitation work, salary slips and a reduction of workload.
The trade union claimed that the JNU administration is planning to clamp down on the protesters. The workers, protesting for seven days, claim JNU has denied them bonuses for years and has failed to provide salary slips, violating labour laws.