Members of the Kurmi community in Bengal continued their “rail roko” protest in Purulia and West Midnapore on Wednesday as part of their demonstration over the demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

The stir that began on Tuesday morning has affected train services in several parts of Bengal, as well as in Jharkhand and Odisha.

Thousands of people blockaded railway tracks of the South Eastern railway and blocked the route between Kharagpur, Purulia, Adra and Asansol sections. Sources said that owing to the protest, the transport system in certain parts of the district has come to a near standstill. SER officials said they have cancelled 53 trains altogether and short-routed 33 trains. It has also diverted 40 trains to other routes. Railway authority and state government officials appealed to protesters to lift the blockade, a move that yielded no result.