Dhanbad: Maoists blew up a small portion of
railway track in Jharkhand and set ablaze a mobile tower's
rest room in Bihar, while life was peaceful in West Bengal and
Odisha on the concluding day today of two-day 'Bharat bandh'
called by the rebels.
In Jharkhand, the Maoists set off IEDs damaging a metre
of railway track and the overhead wires between Nishitpur and
Matari railway stations after the Dhanbad-Kharagpur passenger
train passed around 11:00 pm on Sunday night, Divisional Operative
Manager Ved Prakash.
Over 30 trains were stranded at different places, he
said.
Long-distance buses and trucks stayed off the roads with
the police patrolling national highways.
In Bihar, a group of 70 Maoists set fire to the rest room
of a mobile tower in Rajpur Kaul Marpa village in East
Champaran district, Phenhara police station in-charge Subhash
Kumar said.
In Odisha, shops and business establishments remained
closed in Kalimela, Motu, Padia and Chitrakonda areas of
Malkangiri district and Suundergarh district bordering
Jharkhand, police said.
Passengers faced a tough time as buses and other vehicles
remained off the roads in Maoist-hit areas, including
Malkangiri, Rayagada and Sundargarh for the second consecutive
day, officials said.
In West Bengal, life was peaceful and largely unaffected
in three districts comprising junglemahal.
Train services were also normal with a pilot engines
running ahead of trains.
In Jhargram town, banks, post offices and shops were
closed and transport was off the roads.
The picture was the same in the Maoist-hit Binpur,
Belpahari, Jamboni and Lalgarh police stations areas which are
near the Jharkhand border, they said.
In Purulia district, life was normal with offices and
shops open, but buses were off the roads.
Trinamool Congress workers took out a procession in
Raipur police station area opposing the bandh, they said.
Shops were closed in Raipur, Ranibandh, Sarenga and
Simplipal areas.
The bandh was called in protest against the killing of
top Maoist leader Kishenji in West Midnapore district in an
encounter with security forces on November 24.
PTI
First Published: Monday, December 05, 2011, 15:20