Fill 'er up before the price hike - a scene at a city petrol pump. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Consumers started queueing up in front of filling stations on Thursday afternoon, following the Centre's announcement of a hike in petrol and diesel prices.

By 5pm, there was a rush across the city for a refill.

"Despite the rush, there is no order for the filling stations to stay open beyond their schedule," said Joydeb Sarkar, the general secretary of the West Bengal Petroleum Dealers' Association.

Bus association members fear the hike will inconvenience commuters. "The government should have thought about the impact on the common people before deciding on the hike," said Swarnakamal Saha, the president of Bengal Bus Syndicate.

He, however, held out a hope: "There will be no immediate rise in bus fares."

Sadhan Das, the general secretary of the Joint Council of Bus Syndicate, said: "We'll meet transport minister Subhas Chakraborty and press for the lowering of sales tax and abolition of cess."

The Progressive Taximen's Union will hit the streets to protest the hike, said president Madan Mitra. The CPM-controlled Bengal Taxi Association did not comment.

"We will take necessary steps on the basis of discussions with the associations," said transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury.