Bharat Bandh: Offices, schools and colleges open at regular time

Offices, schools and colleges in the national capital opened at regular time despite the 'Bharat Bandh' called by the Congress to protest against the hike in petrol and diesel prices.

Heavy police deployment was made in the national capital with reserve police forces deployed and motorcycle patrols being put on high alert, a senior police officer said.

The officer said police personnel have been deployed at petrol pumps across Delhi to ensure no untoward incident takes place.

Traffic was affected in Daryaganj and around Ramlila Maidan due to the protest and commuters faced problems in reaching their destinations as the cab companies had hiked their fares.

Opposition parties led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi started a march from Rajghat to Ramlila Maidan here to protest against the rising prices of petrol and diesel.

Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha were also present at the protest.

Meanwhile, AAP leaders staged a protest at Jantar Mantar against the fuel price hike.

Senior party leader Dilip Pandey said unrest against Narendra Modi-led government is growing and the opposition cannot remain silent to the plight of common man affected by issues like fuel price hike, corruption and unemployment.

Offices were opened on time and official work was not affected at the Delhi Secretariat due to Bharat Bandh, an official said.

Schools and colleges also had classes on time though students experienced difficulties in finding transportation.

However, a transport department official said the DTC buses and cluster buses were running as usual and no reports of disruption were received so far.