New Delhi, May 31
The traffic on roads was gridlocked due to the bandh called by activists of theBJP who blocked several routes in Delhi to protest against the petrol price hike today.

It was mostly commuters who faced a harrowing time. The traffic in many parts of the city was almost paralysed. Fewer autos and packed Metro trains made it difficult for the commuters to reach their destinations on time.

Some auto and taxi unions also joined the protest. "Autos are not plying and whoever is available they are overcharging. Buses are anyway known for their low frequency," said Surat Kumar, a banker.

"There was a near stamped at the major Metro stations. The Metro was also running slow,'' said Bhola, commuting to Gurgaon from Rajiv Chowk.

Though small shops remained opened in many areas in the morning, most of the traders participated in the BJP bandh. Major markets in Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar, Laxmi Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Defence Colony, Khan Market and CP remained closed.

The traders also protested against the state government's budget proposal to impose a 5 per cent VAT on CNG.

The main areas that were blocked by the BJP workers were Akshardham, Laxmi Nagar, Janakpuri, Karol Bagh and Mayapuri to enforce the shutdown.

Leaders of the Left parties also participated in the Bharat bandh and blocked roads at Shalimar Bagh, Govindpuri, Vikas Marg and Narela. Some leaders, including Prakash Karat, A B Bardhan, Sitaram Yechury and D Raja, courted arrest along with a number of their supporters near Delhi Gate as part of their protest against petrol price hike.

"The steep hike in petrol price and the proposed hike in CNG price are an unforgivable blow to the common man by this government. It has to be rolled back," said CPI (ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya.

The common man won't tolerate price hikes, said BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. "People are with the BJP and we will try our best to support the common man's cause," said Naqvi, protesting at the Akshardham flyover.

Over 800 people, including leaders of the BJP and Left-wing parties, were detained across the city today while protesting against petrol price hike.

Special commissioner of police (operations) Deepak Mishra, said, "3,500 men from the Delhi police were deployed across the Capital. There were no instances of violence."

According to the police, 813 people were detained. The highest number of detentions was in central Delhi-- 229.

The detainees included BJP Delhi president Vijender Gupta, BJP MP Abbas Naqvi, AB Vardhan of the CPI (M) and Harvinder Singh Rai of the JDU.

New Delhi, May 31
The Delhi bandh today spelled inevitable inconvenience for commuters who had to resort to metro to reach their destinations.

During the peak hours, the metro coaches were mostly jam-packed, with the heat increasing the trouble, especially for women and elderly.

With people preferring metro over bus and auto, parking spaces at several stations were occupied in no time. Long queues at the ticket counters and rush at the entrance gates were overwhelming at some of the main interchange junctions like Yaumna Bank, Anand Vihar, Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat and HUDA City Centre.

"The women coaches were very crowded today. Even on normal days, it is difficult to find enough space to stand, but today, it was worse. It felt like a stampede was about to happen. It was especially bad for elderly women and those travelling with children. Even the guards couldn't help much because everyone was in a hurry," said Ronisha Bhattacharya, a DU student at the Vishwavidyala station.

The rush subsided towards the afternoon.But the evening again saw a heavy rush.