Chennai: Students of various educational institutions today staged protest demonstrations in several parts of Tamil Nadu against the steep hike in bus fares effected by the State government.

Seeking immediate rollback of the increase, students of Kundavai Natchiar Government Women's College in Thanjavur district held a road-roko blocking traffic in front of their institution.

Similarly, students of a private college in Tiruchirappalli blocked traffic due to which vehicular movement was hit on the Tiruchirappalli-Thanjavur highway for some time.

Students of colleges in places including Ariyalur, Tirupur, Palani, Villupuram, Tirunelveli also held protest demonstrations. Blocking traffic, they shouted slogans against the hike and sought its withdrawal.

Also, cadres of political parties including the CPI(M), CPI held protest demonstrations in Tiruvallur, Madurai, Kanyakumari and Coimbatore districts.

Effective January 20, Tamil Nadu government announced a steep hike of fares ranging between 20 and 54.54 per cent in most routes with even higher increase in other routes.

The hike was strongly opposed by opposition parties including main opposition DMK.

Both Chief Minister K Palaniswami and Transport Minister M R Vijayabaskar had called the hike "inevitable."

Vijayabaskar had ruled out the possibility of a rollback.