Tamil Nadu bus fare hike: Over 7000 political workers taken into police custody amid protests

Coimbatore/Erode: More than 7,000 workers of various political parties, led by the DMK, were taken into custody on Monday for attempting to stage road roko in various districts, demanding a  rollback of the recent bus fare hike . Besides DMK, activists of the Congress, the Left parties, DMDK and VCK, staged protests in Erode, Cuddalore Erode, Thanjavur, Coimbatore, Tirupur and Nilgiris districts. [caption id=“attachment_4325577” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] MDMK General Secretary Vaiko, VCK Leader Thol Thirumavalavan and others stage a road blockade agitation demanding a total withdrawal of recent bus fare hike in Chennai. PTI[/caption] In Coimbatore, DMK MLA N Karthik, former minister Pongalur N Palanisamy and district leaders of CPI, VCK, MDMK Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi participated in the protests. As the workers attempted to squat in the middle of the road, police arrested over 1,000 persons, it said. Similarly, over 1,000 workers were arrested in nearby Tirupur and around 500 in the Nilgiris districts. Over 5,000 activists were taken into custody in various parts of Erode district when they attempted to stag road roko. Buses were plying normally, the police said. Former union ministers TR Baalu an SS Palanimanikkam participated in the protests at Thanjavur, where 192 activists were taken into custody. More than 450 workers of various parties were taken into custody at Cuddalore.