Students protest in front of a bus at Vani Vihar Square on Monday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 1: Students of Utkal University on Tuesday interrupted city bus service demanding concession in bus fares for them.

About 150 students gathered at Vani Vihar Square on national highway and stopped moving of city buses for more than 30 minutes. The protest ended following police intervention.

Tanmay Swain, a final year student of personnel management and industrial relations, said their decision to stop vehicles was a “symbolic” one. “If the authorities do not pay any heed to our demands, we will intensify our agitation from Wednesday,” he said.

“There should be provisions for monthly passes. The bus fares are comparatively high and financially weak students are finding it difficult to afford the service,” said Trilochan Behera, another student.

Passengers had to suffer due to the agitation as the students stopped the buses and asked the passengers to leave the place.

“I could not understand what was going on and we were asked to collect our fares and step down from the bus. I had no option but to travel by an autorickshaw,” said Somnath Behera, a passenger.

The police said they had no prior information about the students’ protest. “They withdrew their agitation as we discussed the isssues with them,” said a police officer.

City mayor Anant Narayan Jena, who is also the chairman of the Bhubaneswar Puri Transport Services limited, termed the protest as illegal.

“The students disrupted the bus service without informing anyone. This is unjustified. They need to first inform their demand in writing so that we could consider their proposal,” he said, adding that there was no provision for concessions in the fares according to the present dispensation.