From correspondents in Orissa, India, 04:01 PM IST

Thousands of activists of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday staged protests and burnt effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi at several places in Orissa to protest the rise in fuel prices.

The BJP workers blocked traffic for about about two hours at Cuttack, 26 km from here, as a part of their seven-day agitation against the central government's decision.

The central government Wednesday raised the price of petrol by Rs.5 a litre, of diesel by Rs.3 a litre and of cooking gas cylinders by Rs.50.

'The protest launched across the state was successful and people spontaneously participated in the protest," BJP's state unit president Suresh Pujari told IANS.

Activists of the Left parties and the Biju Janata Dal also staged protests in some parts of the state.

"We want withdrawal of the new tariffs and will convey our demand to the central government," Chief minister Naveen Patnaik said here.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)