Ahmedabad, Sep 9 (IANS): Gujarat Congress has given a symbolic bandh call in the state on Saturday to protest against inflation and unemployment.

The Congress has appealed to the traders and other businesses to pull down their shutters from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The party's state unit president Jagdish Thakor appealed to the people to join the bandh call to register their protest against inflation, unemployment and to get regular jobs for the contractual workers.

Thakor alleged that 4,36,663 qualified youths were unemployed, some 4,58,976 unemployed youths are registered with the state employment exchange office even as 4.50 lakh government posts are vacant.

Hundreds of village panchayats are functioning without Gram sevak officers, hundreds of government libraries don't have regular librarians and more than 27,000 teachers posts are vacant.

Talking about inflation, Thakor said edible oil prices are skyhigh at Rs 3,000, gas cylinder' price is now Rs 1,060, petrol is priced at Rs 95 and the CNG has touched Rs 84 per kilo. "These all products have a cascading effect on the citizens' lives," stated Thakor.

He has instructed all the district and city Congress committees and workers to ensure that emergency services were not disturbed because of the bandh call.