Guwahati: Assam Mahila Congress members staged a demonstration against the hike in price of LPG cylinders by cooking on a clay oven on the road in front of Rajiv Bhawan here on Saturday.
The protesters displayed placards and shouted slogans against the BJP government at the Centre and the state.
The price of subsidised LPG was increased by Rs 2.34 and non-subsidised cylinders by Rs 48 this month.
"The Centre had been continuously raising prices of essential commodities, including LPG cylinders. People are struggling to make ends meet. So today we hit the streets to protest against the anti-people policies of the BJP government," said Shahnaz Haque, president of the state Mahila Congress.
This is the second protest by the Mahila Congress in a month against price rise.
During the protest, no woman police was present at the site.
Bipin Medhi, officer-in-charge of Bhangagarh police station, under which the protest site falls, told this correspondent, "We have three women constables who work in shifts. The protesters informed us 15 minutes before their programme and I immediately sent a team, which had a woman constable. If we were informed in advance, we could have asked for CRPF force with women personnel."
Additional police commissioner Ramandeep Kaur said, "There is a shortage of women constables in the city's police stations. I have intimated the higher authorities of the problem. Bhangagarh police have to attend to issues related to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital. We are trying our best to address these problems."
The Dhubri unit of the Congress on Saturday observed Vishwasghat Divas (betrayal day) against the BJP-led government's "failure to fulfill promises". A number of Congress leaders, including South Salmara-Mankachar MLA Wajed Ali Choudhury, took part in a march led by a bullock cart from the party office in Dhubri.
The Tengakhat block Congress unit took out a bicycle rally at Tipling Tiniali in Dibrugarh on Saturday morning to protest against the rise in prices of essential commodities.
Additional reporting by Mukesh Kumar Singh in Dhubri and Pradip Kumar Neog in Duliajan
