Train services hit by tribals' stir in West Bengal, 12 trains cancelled

Twelve trains were cancelled and four were short-terminated due to tribals' agitation. Adivasi Sengel Abhijan, which has called for rail blockade in five states, agitated on rail tracks in three districts of West Bengal since morning.

Kolkata: Trains services on Saturday were affected in many areas of Midnapore, Malda and Purulia due to the rail blockade call given by the Adivasi Sengel Abhijan. The tribal organisation had called for rail blockade in five states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Assam and West Bengal over a host of demands, including recognition of Sarna as a religion and claiming their rights over Parasnath Hills in Jharkhand. The services were disrupted since morning. Agitations were organised in Kantadih Station in Adra Division and Khemasuli Station in Kharagpur Division under South Eastern Railway. The rail disruptions have left passengers in trouble.

Twelve trains, Kharagpur-Tatanagar Passenger Special, Howrah-Barbil-Howrah Jan Shatabdi Express, Howrah-Titlagarh Ispat Express, Kharagpur-Tatanagar-Kharagpur Passenger Special, Tatanagar-Kharagpur Passenger Special, Tatanagar-Kharagpur-Tatanagar Passenger Special, Tatanagar-Howrah-Tatanagar Steel Express, Tatanagar-Kharagpur Passenger Special, Chakradharpur-Gomoh-Chakradharpur MEMU Express, Tatanagar-Danapur Express, Tatanagar-Asansol Passenger Special and Tatanagar-Chakradharpur-Tatanagar Passenger Special were cancelled due to the agitation.

In the wake of the agitation, four trains, including Kantabanji-Titlagarh-Howrah Ispat Express, Hatia-Tatanagar-Hatia Express, Dhanbad-Tatanagar-Dhanbad Express and Jhargram-Purulia-Jhargram MEMU Passenger Special, were short terminated while many were diverted, South Eastern Railway official said. Along with rail blockades, agitators blocked a few roads, including stretches of the Kolkata-Mumbai NH-6 and Purulia-Jamshedpur NH-32.

Today is the birth anniversary of the first tribal freedom fighter, who took up arms against the British rule. Last month, the Adivasi Sengel Abhijan launched the “Marang Buru Bachao Yatra” to claim their rights over Parasnath Hills, which is considered the most holy place of worship of the tribals. The outfit has also demanded the inclusion of tribals hailing from Jharkhand and residing in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Assam in the ST category. At the same time, they opposed the Kurmi community's ST status.