ABVP activists block Ashok Rajpath in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Aug. 9: Wading through knee-deep water in incessant rain, commuters at Ashok Rajpath had to confront a third problem today when hordes of young protesters chose the busy road to stage a demonstration against corruption and inflation.

Hundreds of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) nembers staged a road blockade to against the “failures” of UPA government. Their two-hour long protest affected traffic on both side of the road. However, no effort was made by the district administration to lift the blockade.

Office-goers and college students had to bear the brunt of the protest as the blockade was staged from 10am to 12 noon.

Sunil Ranjan, who works in a courier company at Exhibition Road, was stuck in the jam for nearly an hour. He said: “It is good that ABVP activists are staging a protest against price hike and corruption as these issues have affected the country a lot, but this is no way of showing their displeasure. Protest on such issues should be done peacefully without affecting the people.”

Despite heavy showers since morning and repeated requests by commuters, the protesters did not lift their blockade. Sunita Rani, a student of Magadh Mahila College, had to take a different route to reach college as the entrance was blocked.

The rally was one of the many countrywide protests by ABVP activists against the UPA-II government. The leaders who staged a blockade said the UPA government is neck-deep in corruption and blamed the Prime Minister for the growing menace. “Instead of taking action against the corrupt, the Prime Minister has always lied to protect people like A. Raja and Suresh Kalmadi. Efforts are being made to torture and defame the people fighting against corruption. The UPA government has openly misused the government machinery and Central Bureau of Investigation,” said Nishant, an ABVP activist, protesting at the venue.

The ABVP leaders also raised local issues to gain people’s attention such as the vice-chancellors’ (VCs) appointments in various universities. Leaders and activists raised slogans against Raj Bhavan, denouncing the VC appointments.

Amritanshu Shekhar, ABVP district convener (Patna), said: “We are concerned about problems that people face but the blockade was part of a nation-wide ABVP demonstration against corruption. Moreover, we had informed people through various agencies about the blockade.”

ABVP activists in other places in the state made similar protests. In Bhagalpur, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Nalanda, Darbhanga and other places, activists blocked highways.