Dalit activists staged protests in several places across Himachal Pradesh today against the alleged dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. A strike call given by various Dalit outfits was, however, largely ineffective in the hilly state. The protests were peaceful. A large number of people led by former minister Singhi Ram and former Shimla mayor Sohan Lal assembled at Cart Road in Shimla and blocked traffic for an hour. Dalit activists took put protest marches in Paonta and other places.