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DU students highlight high costs of travel

Staff Reporter

Rationalise transport costs, demands United Students

NEW DELHI: Demanding "rationalisation" of transport costs for students, United Students kicked off a campaign on Thursday to highlight the "abnormal" costs of travel borne by students of Delhi University.

"When the cost of travel per month begins to equal your annual fees, you know that there is something seriously wrong at the policy level," said Aaditya Dar, chief coordinator of United Students.

Explaining the "high" expenditure on transport, another United Students member, Ritwik Agarwal, said: "We have done an analysis of the approximate cost of travel to and from Delhi University for students. We found that for some students living in areas like Dwarka, just the cost of travelling by Metro rail is Rs. 42 per day. Add to that the auto or cycle-rickshaw costs, the pass issued by the Delhi Transport Corporation, and we have a monthly bill touching Rs. 3,000 per month in some cases."

Last year, the group had initiated a campaign against caste-based reservation and made its debut in the elections for the Delhi University Students' Union.

This year the volunteers will start a signature campaign to make admission-seekers aware of what their real expenses will be once they join college.

They are also aiming at securing the support of parents who will be accompanying them during the admission process.

The members said they had petitioned the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chief E. Sreedharan to rationalise metro fares for students and suggested introduction of a "student concession model" only on travel to and from Delhi University.

"We have also written to Delhi Transport Minister for increasing the number of U-Specials and launching an intra-campus special shuttle service, " said Ritwik.

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