The Hindu : National : Naxals damage railway lines, traffic hit in Bihar, Jharkhand

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Naxals damage railway lines, traffic hit in Bihar, Jharkhand

K. Srinivas Reddy

Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal remain incident-free

— Photo: PTI

Violent protest: CRPF jawans stand guard near wagons of a goods train after the rail track was blown up by Maoists near the Chetar station in Jharkhand on Tuesday.

HYDERABAD: Security forces maintained tight vigil in all naxal-affected States as Maoist guerrillas stepped up attacks on railway property on Tuesday to mark the beginning of their 48-hour, nationwide economic blockade against the Centre’s economic policies.

The protest call evoked some response in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa, which face intense rebel activity. Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal remained incident-free.

Iron ore movement hit

The rebels damaged rail lines on Bailadilla Hills in the Bastar forests, bringing to a halt iron ore movement from the Bailadilla mines to the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

In Jharkhand also, the rail track was damaged in Latehar district, forcing authorities to cancel or divert 20 trains. In Giridh district, the Maoists parked a heavy truck across the rail track and deflated its tyres, leading to traffic disruption for some time, Gauri Shankar Rath, Additional Director-General of Police, told The Hindu on the phone.

Armed skirmishes

Armed skirmishes broke out between the rebels and security forces in Orissa and Chhattisgarh, but there were no causalities.

In Orissa, the police claimed that they foiled an attempt to blast the 360-MW Balimela hydel plant in Malkangiri district.

The rebels retreated on seeing a huge posse of police guarding the unit but later they blew up a BSNL cellphone tower.

In Chhattisgarh, the police engaged the rebels in a gun fight near Bairamgadh in Bijapur district.

Inspector-General Giridhari Nayak said an attempt to blow up a rail bridge between the Bhansi and Bacheli stations was foiled. Security forces on patrol detected and defused mines.

In the same section, the naxals damaged the rail track on Monday night and iron ore movement was hit, Mr. Nayak said over telephone.

Sources in the Intelligence Bureau said that in Bihar, the East Central Railway suspended train services as the blockade call affected normal life in the naxal strongholds of Gaya and Jehanabad. In Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra there was not much of an impact.

Intelligence officials apprehended more rebel strikes, following the killing of Maoist Central Committee member Sande Rajamouli alias Prasad in an alleged encounter by the Andhra Pradesh police in Anantapur district on Friday night.

Vehicles off NH

K. Balchand reports from Patna

Heavy vehicles kept off the national highways while train services were affected in naxalite-hit regions in Bihar and Jharkhand.

The naxalites attacked and damaged a coalmine in Pakur district in Jharkhand and set ablaze eight dumpers.

As a precautionary measure, the Railways cancelled half a dozen trains including the Ranchi-Delhi Rajdhani Express.

In Bihar, train movement was suspended in several sections including Patna-Gaya and Saharsa-Katihar. Consequently, passengers in both States were put to difficulty.

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