By IANS
Bastar (Chhattisgarh) : Maoists blocked roads in rural areas and public transport kept off the roads as a two-day economic blockade called by the rebels began in Chhattisgarh Tuesday. There were no reports of violence.
The blockade, to protest exploitation of natural resources by private and public firms and against the formation of special economic zones (SEZs), affected life in the interior parts of the state with public transport keeping off the roads. Mining activities in the iron ore rich Dantewada district was partially affected, police said.
Life ground to a halt in Narayanpur district and interior areas of Bijapur, Dantewada, Kanker and Bastar regions, including the forested hamlets in Bhopalpattanam and Usur after the rebels blocked the roads by cutting trees.
"There are no reports of violent activities," a top police official told IANS.
On Monday, Maoists had blasted a power and communication infrastructure in Bijapur district, plunging the district in darkness for hours.
They had also damaged railway tracks in Dantewada, putting a halt to the transportation of iron ore from Bailadila hills to Vishakhapatnam. On Tuesday too, the transportation of the ore remained suspended, Inspector General Girdhari Nayak (in charge of Maoist operations) told IANS by phone.
"Iron ore mining in the Bailadila hills has been partially hit in Kirandul because some workers failed to report for work fearing attacks," said an officer of the state-run National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (NMDC).
According to police estimates, around 5,000 hardcore Maoists armed with AK-47 rifles and landmines and backed by nearly 20,000 cadres, are active in the hilly terrain of southern Chhattisgarh.