Patna, May 15: The Rs 5 hike in petrol price today fuelled vehement protests in the city. From auto associations to political parties and common man, it agitated everyone.

Patna Junction and Kargil Chowk became the stage of vociferous agitations. Effigies were set afire, too.

The moment people learnt about the petrol price hike, they rushed to the nearest petrol pump last night to fill vehicle tanks at earlier rates for one last time. The morning after, it was time to protest.

The BJP, RJD, JD (U) and other parties termed the decision “unfortunate” and demanded rollback of the price hike immediately in the interest of the masses.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar said: “The measure will have a cascading effect on the prices of other goods, much to the chagrin of the common man.” He described it to be an “opportunistic” step.

Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) SUCI (C) burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Patna Junction and demanded rollback in the price. Senior member of the party Shiv Lal Prasad said: “The UPA government has turned completely corrupt. There is no government control on petroleum companies, which has resulted in the frequent price rise.”

The supporters raised anti-government slogans and demanded the state government to lift the tax from petroleum products to reduce the petrol price.

RJD national spokesman and secretary general Ram Kripal Yadav told The Telegraph: “It (the petrol price hike) is an unfortunate decision. This will now be an added burden on the common people.”

The All India Students’ Federation (AISF) members burnt an effigy of the UPA government and raised anti-government slogans at Kargil Chowk. The AISF district president, Navneet Kumar, said: “This is the seventh time in the past 11 months that the government has decided to increase the petrol prices.”

Rajkumar Jha, the president of Patna Zila Auto Rickshaw Chalak Sangh, said: “More than 15,000 autos run on petrol and this sudden price hike will make the autowallahs’ lives miserable. If the petrol price has risen, so would the fare. Else, how would we survive? All auto drivers of Patna district condemn the petrol price hike.”

Vivek Mishra, a resident of Patliputra and a marketing professional, said: “I will end up spending all my salary if I continue to travel by bike. I have no option but to switch to public transport. But doing a marketing job by travelling in buses is not viable. My office gives me a paltry sum as daily travel allowance. I am really helpless and not able to think of any other option.”