KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - Train and bus services were disrupted in parts of rural east and central India on Tuesday as Maoist rebels joined protests over a policy of establishing industrial parks on farmlands.
The rebels had called for a 24-hour strike in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar to protest against last week's killing of at least 14 villagers when police opened fire on demonstrators in Nandigram in West Bengal.
But the strike call had no impact on cities, police said.
The villagers in Nandigram were angry at plans to force them off their lands to make way for a low-tax special economic zone (SEZ), a proposal that has since been shelved.
At least a dozen long-distance trains were cancelled as rebel activists blocked railway tracks at several places in Jharkhand and Bihar, police and witnesses said.
All bus services to Maoist strongholds in the southern tip of Chhattisgarh and in parts of the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh were cancelled.
"We are on high alert to counter any possible violence during the strike, which has affected normal life in rural pockets," Arun Gupta, a top police official said, adding most shops and schools in these areas were closed.
The rebels have threatened violent movements against the policy of setting up SEZs on farming land -- part of efforts to boost India's manufacturing sector and close the gap on China.
"This strike is just the beginning of a strong movement against land grabbing in the country," said Bhanu Sarkar of the People's Resistance Forum, a Maoist-backed organisation.
Indian Maoists have a presence in rural areas in at least 13 of the country's 29 states, in the east, centre and south.
In their deadliest assault in decades, the rebels killed 55 policemen and tribal militia in Chhattisgarh last week.
In what police said was an attempt to spread fear before the strike, the rebels killed three alleged "police informers" in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh overnight on Monday, while police gunned down two Maoists in Orissa.
The rebels had distributed leaflets in their areas of influence on Monday evening warning of severe consequences if anyone defied the strike call.
India's Maoist movement began four decades ago to fight for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers. Thousands have been killed in the conflict, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has termed the biggest challenge to India's internal security.
The rebels had called for a 24-hour strike in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar to protest against last week's killing of at least 14 villagers when police opened fire on demonstrators in Nandigram in West Bengal.
But the strike call had no impact on cities, police said.
The villagers in Nandigram were angry at plans to force them off their lands to make way for a low-tax special economic zone (SEZ), a proposal that has since been shelved.
At least a dozen long-distance trains were cancelled as rebel activists blocked railway tracks at several places in Jharkhand and Bihar, police and witnesses said.
All bus services to Maoist strongholds in the southern tip of Chhattisgarh and in parts of the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh were cancelled.
"We are on high alert to counter any possible violence during the strike, which has affected normal life in rural pockets," Arun Gupta, a top police official said, adding most shops and schools in these areas were closed.
The rebels have threatened violent movements against the policy of setting up SEZs on farming land -- part of efforts to boost India's manufacturing sector and close the gap on China.
"This strike is just the beginning of a strong movement against land grabbing in the country," said Bhanu Sarkar of the People's Resistance Forum, a Maoist-backed organisation.
Indian Maoists have a presence in rural areas in at least 13 of the country's 29 states, in the east, centre and south.
In their deadliest assault in decades, the rebels killed 55 policemen and tribal militia in Chhattisgarh last week.
In what police said was an attempt to spread fear before the strike, the rebels killed three alleged "police informers" in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh overnight on Monday, while police gunned down two Maoists in Orissa.
The rebels had distributed leaflets in their areas of influence on Monday evening warning of severe consequences if anyone defied the strike call.
India's Maoist movement began four decades ago to fight for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers. Thousands have been killed in the conflict, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has termed the biggest challenge to India's internal security.
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