The Delhi government had opposed the decision of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to hike fares by up to 66 per cent and had instead called for reducing fares, a government official said on Monday.
"Delhi Metro fare hike is a wrong decision. The elected Delhi government had opposed the move - it will adversely affect the regular passengers," Delhi government's Media Adviser Nagendar Sharma tweeted.
He added that the government had told the DMRC that women and students would be adversely affected in case of a fare hike.
"Delhi Government had told DMRC (that) increase in fares will force commuters to shift to personal vehicles and in fact, fares should be reduced," he said.
Sharma's remarks came after the DMRC hiked its fares by up to 66 per cent, with the maximum fare going up to Rs 50 from the earlier Rs 30.
The new fare structure has been divided into six slabs: Rs 10 (0-2 km), Rs 15 (2-5 km), Rs 20 (5-12 km), Rs 30 (12-21 km), Rs 40 (21-32 km) and Rs 50 (beyond 32 km).
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The DMRC said the revision was necessary on account of increase in the input cost.
--IANS
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