Jhargram: Eighty-eight trains were cancelled, and hundreds of vehicles remained stranded as different organisations of the Kurmi community continued their rail and road blockade in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district on Thursday, demanding ST status, officials said.
The protest started at 6 am on Tuesday with the blockade of the old National Highway 6, which connects Kolkata to Mumbai, at Khemasuli in Kharagpur local police station area by Kurmi Samaj West Bengal, they said.
Another organisation of the community, Adivasi Kurmi Samaj, joined the protest on Wednesday, blocking the railway tracks at Khemasuli station in the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section and Kustaur station in the Adra-Chandil section in Purulia district, they added.
Among the trains cancelled on Thursday were Howrah-Pune Duronto Express, Howrah-Jagdalpur Express, Howrah-Pune Azad Hind Express, Howrah-Ahmedabad Express, Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, Howrah-Ranchi Express, Shalimar-LTT Express, Howrah-Mumbai CSMT Mail and Santragachi-Rani Kamlapati Humsafar Express, the South Eastern Railway said in a statement.
Puri-New Delhi Express, Mumbai-CSTM-Howrah Duronto Express and Jagdalpur-Howrah Express were also cancelled, it said.
Fifty nine express, and passenger trains scheduled for Friday and four trains scheduled for Saturday have also been cancelled, the press statement said.
On Wednesday, 46 express and passenger trains were cancelled due to the agitation.
“As a result of the agitation, a total of 223 trains have been cancelled since Wednesday,” it added. Eight trains have been short-terminated.
Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on NH 6, triggering massive traffic snarls even on the adjoining roads in Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram districts.
Officials said some vehicles were being diverted through Balibhasha in Jhargram to bypass the blockade.
Drivers of the stranded vehicles said they were facing food and water scarcity.
The organisation of the Kurmi community, which is classified as OBC at present, are protesting in different districts of the state, including Dakshin Dinajpur, Purulia, Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur.
The Paschim Medinipur district administration officials held a meeting with the agitating organisations on Wednesday but ‘failed’ to reach a settlement.
“The blockade will continue until our demands are met,” said Tapas Mahato, a Kurmi Samaj West Bengal leader.
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