Fuel price hike: Youth Congress workers block train, push two-wheelers around in Kasaragod

Kasaragod: Youth Congress workers on Tuesday blocked the Coimbatore-Mangaluru Intercity Express at Kanhangad railway station, protesting against the frequent fuel price increase. The Railway Police and Hosdurg Police forcibly removed the protesters from the tracks and the platforms.

The agitation began around noon, when the Intercity Express chugged in, and the Youth Congress workers entered the platform. When the train stopped, they got onto the tracks and raised slogans against the Union government, accusing it of burdening ordinary people through repeated hikes in petrol and diesel prices.

Train services were briefly disrupted as protesters refused to disperse. Minor scuffles and verbal confrontations broke out when police intervened and removed the demonstrators by force. The protest was led by DCC vice-president B P Pradeep Kumar.

In Kasaragod town, Youth Congress workers staged a separate protest by pushing two-wheelers with photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi pasted on the headlights, mocking the steep rise in fuel prices. The protests come amid mounting public anger over consecutive fuel price hikes over the past 11 days.

Petrol prices have gone up by around ₹7.5 per litre since May 15, taking the price in Kerala to around ₹115.5 per litre, among the highest in the country.

State-run oil marketing companies such as Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum on Monday raised petrol prices by ₹2.61 per litre and diesel prices by ₹2.71 per litre in the latest revision. Petrol and diesel prices were first increased by ₹3 per litre each on May 15, followed by another hike of 90 paise on May 19. On May 23, petrol prices were raised by 87 paise and diesel by 91 paise.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) prices were also increased by ₹2 per kg on Tuesday, taking the total increase in CNG prices to ₹6 per kg within 10 days.