DYFI holds campaign against Madurai railway ground fee hike

Madurai: The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) in Madurai conducted a signature campaign against the doubling of fees at the Southern Railway Sports Association Ground in Arasaradi.Around 2,000 signatures were collected on Thursday morning, nine days after the user fee hike came into effect on July 1.T Selvaraj, district president of DYFI, said the ground is very important to the people in Madurai South. “The railway ground should be accessible to everyone and not just the elite class,” he said. He added that the campaign was well received by the people and the hike in fees needs to be struck down immediately.“Railways are in the service sector. The ground under their maintenance should also be a service and not become a commercial business,” Selvaraj said.The monthly fee for a team of 11 players to play football has been hiked from Rs3,000 to Rs4,000. Badminton rates have gone from Rs1,500 to Rs2,000; the rate for use of the gym has more than doubled from Rs300 to Rs750, and parking fees have increased by almost four times.A railway official said that the hikes are done every five years and will go towards the maintenance and improvement of the grounds.