Bike torched to protest fuel price hike in Thrissur

Thrissur: CPI activists torched a motorcycle at Pariyaram junction near Chalakudy to protest the recent hikes in fuel prices.Incensed by the rising oil prices, CPI workers held a procession on Thursday evening after which they set the bike on fire.“This form of protest was arranged to draw the attention of the powers that be about the people’s sufferings following the steep hike in oil prices. People have developed a feeling that there is no point in keeping such vehicles, as far as common people are concerned, because of the unbearable cost of fuel. So, one of our comrades suggested his bike be burnt,’’ said V M Tenson, secretariat member of the Chalakudy Mandalam CPI committee.Asked about the potential environmental hazard of burning the bike, Tenson said, “How many vehicles are catching fire every day in our country. This bike was burnt as a form of protest on an issue affecting the vast majority of the people.”He added that police are yet to frame any charge against him in connection with the incident.