Jamshedpur: Railway services were affected in parts of Jharkhand on Tuesday due to a shutdown called by a tribal outfit over a host of demands, including making Santali the main official language in the state and publication of school and college textbooks in Olchiki script.
Members of the ‘Olchiki Hul Vaisi’ (OHV), a wing of the Majhi Paragana Mahal, blocked the railway lines at Chirugoda station in Kharagpur division and Govindpur station in Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway, enforcing the Jharkhand bandh called by them, officials said.
The protestors also blocked roads at several places, including Dobo bridge on Domuhani river in Seraikela-Kharswan and National Highway 33 near Chandil, they said.
The demonstrators also demanded the appointment of teachers for Santali in schools, and the formation of a Santal Academy.
However, there was no major impact of the shutdown in the urban areas of the state, including Ranchi and Jamshedpur.
OHV member Paluram Hembram, who is the village head of Salgajhuri in East Singhbhum district, told PTI that a delegation of the outfit had met Chief Minister Hemant Soren in June, and placed the demands before him but no action was taken.
OHV general secretary Durga Charan Murmu claimed the shutdown evoked a massive response in rural pockets.
He threatened that the organisation would go for a larger demonstration if their demands are not met.
No arrest has been made in connection with the shutdown, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Composite Control Room) Animesh Gupta said.
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