SFI activists clash with police during protest against bus fare hike in Shimla

A scuffle broke out between members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and police during a protest at Summerhill Chowk near the gates of Himachal Pradesh University on Monday. The protest was staged against the state government’s recent decision to hike bus fare. Tensions escalated when protestors tried to set an effigy of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on fire, prompting police intervention.

During the protest, SFI activists raised slogans condemning the fare hike and demanded that the government immediately roll back the decision.

Ankush Rana, a member of the SFI state committee, termed the fare hike “anti-people and anti-student”.

He said that this would impose an unnecessary financial burden on those who commute by availing public transport facilities to reach their destinations on a daily basis.

The SFI warned the state government that it would launch a mass movement if the fare hike is not revoked.