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

Offices, schools and colleges in the national capital opened at their 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, and motorcycle patrols were 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.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi also joined the protest at Ramlila Maidan.

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 about the plight of common man affected by issues like fuel price hike, corruption and unemployment.

Delhi Congress workers staged dharnas at petrol pumps across the city on Monday protesting hike in fuel prices under 'Bharat Bandh' called by the party.

Senior Congress leaders, including Delhi unit chief Ajay Maken, protested by riding a bullock cart to a petrol pump near Rajendra Place.

Thousands of party workers are on the streets protesting fuel price hike by the government, said party leader Mukesh Sharma.

Maken lashed out at the Centre over the "unprecedented" rise in prices of petrol and diesel demanding bringing them under the GST, claiming it will provide some relief to the people.

Many opposition parties have joined the call of 'Bharat Bandh' given by the Congress. Several opposition leaders joined Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders of the party in a protest march at Rajghat this morning.

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 DTC buses and cluster buses were running as usual and no reports of disruption were received so far.