In separate incidents, two daily wage labourers vented their ire against the State Government for having hiked the bus fare steeply by attempting to attack the conductors and snatch the cash bags near Uthangarai and Morappur in Krishnagiri district on Sunday.
Police said that Madhu (37), a daily wage worker, got into the TNSTC bus proceeding to Pochampali from Uthangarai on Sunday morning. He picked a wordy quarrel with conductor Sivanesan in procuring the ticket with hiked fare. Madhu suddenly attacked the conductor and attempted to snatch the cash bag. Sivanesan fell from the running bus and suffered injuries.
The driver and the other passengers overpowered Madhu and handed him over to the police.
In a similar incident, Velan of Thottampatti village near Morappur, boarded a bus to go to Pochampalli. When the conductor demanded additional money for the ticket, Velan attacked the conductor and attempted to snatch the cash bag. However, he managed to escape when the bus moved slowly, leaving his bag which contained a small sickle.
Meanwhile, the windscreen of a TNSTC bus suffered damages when some unidentified miscreants hurled stones at it near Harur in the early hours of Sunday. The bus was proceeding to Tirupattur from Salem when the incident took place. The miscreants riding a two- wheeler pelted stones at the windscreen and fled the scene. Police are investigating.
In Coimbatore district, 14 members of Naam Tamizhar Katchi staged an agitation in front of the Sulur bus stand protesting against the bus fare hike on Sunday.
They raised slogans against the government and urged withdrawal of hike immediately.
Cadre of CPI(M) staged an agitation in Anaimalai Mukkonam area on Saturday demanding immediate withdrawal of hike in bus fare. Leaders of the district committee of CPI(M) and leaders of various wings of the party participated.
In Salem, members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) organised a novel agitation of travelling in a bullock cart to protest against the hike in the bus fare on Sunday.
Members of the DYFI came in a procession in two bullock carts to the Collectorate. They carried placards condemning the steep hike in the ticket fare and demanding the government to withdraw the hike.
Later, they staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate. They warned with serious agitations if the government did not withdraw the hike with immediate effect.
(Inputs from Syed Muthahar Saqaf in Salem and R. Arivanantham in Coimbatore)
