Maoist-sponsored Shutdown: Normal Life Affected, Many Trains Cancelled
Normal life has been disrupted in some parts of the five states where Maoists have called for a two-day shutdown to protest against security operations against them, with Railways cancelling some trains in Bihar and Orissa, said media reports.
The five states where rebels called bandh include Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.
Quoting railway sources, reports said that up and down Patna-Barkakhana passenger and Garhwa-Singhreli trains were cancelled in Dhanbad keeping in mind the shutdown.
Other trains which have been cancelled are Shaktipunj Express, Ranchi-Varanasi Express, Rajabera-Gomo Express, Tata-Jammu Tavi Express, while Howrah-Jabalpur have been diverted via Mughalsarai, said reports.
Police said that road transport was affected with buses keeping off the road in Maoists affected areas, reports said.
They said that security forces have been deployed at strategic places, said reports.
According to a Bhubaneshwar report, a passenger train between Biramitrapur and Barasuan in Orissa was also cancelled as a precautionary measure.
Shutdown affected road traffic in several areas of Malkangiri and Koraput districts bordering Chhattisgarh, reports said.
Maoists set on fire a tractor at Paradih village in Latehar district.
In two Maoist hit districts of West Midnapore and Purulia in West Bengal, the bandh was nearly total with no private vehicle on the road and all shops, schools and offices closed in the forested areas collectively known as Jungle Mahal, reports from the districts said.
Chhattisgarh on top alert
Security forces stayed fearful in their base camps and life was hit in several parts of Chhattisgarh as a 48-hour strike called by Maoists began on Tuesday.
A senior police official said that the shutdown called by CPI-Maoist commenced amid fears of fresh attacks and paralysed life in Bastar region as well as parts of Rajnandgaon and the rural areas of Raipur and Dhamtari, said reports.
“Passenger buses are off the roads and people are staying indoors. In several Bastar localities, Maoists have blocked roads by putting heavy wooden logs on jungle roads,” the official at the police headquarters was quoted as saying.
“In Bastar, an absolute terror-like situation is prevailing. Forces are hardly moving due to fears of Maoist attacks… they are feeling terrorised at their base camps,” a senior government official based in Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar region, was quoted as saying.
(Based on internet reports)
