Road traffic on the National Highway between Cuttack and Bhubaneswar was paralysed for nearly an hour on Monday morning when Congress workers led by City Congress chief Md Moqim staged a road blockade at Balikuda Square on the outskirts of the city protesting against the “unprecedented fuel price hike”.
The Congress workers burnt the effigies of the Prime Minister and he Petroleum Minister before the police could arrive on the spot to take them under preventive custody for clearing the traffic on the busy highway at the peak hour as the office-goers had a horrendous experience on the first working day of the week. A large number of passenger buses and Government vehicles were stranded on the NH connecting the twin cities.
Coming down heavily on Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and alleging that Pradhan is not able to keep the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas under control, the Congress leaders addressing the protest rally demanded his resignation.