India News Network Digest Mon, 20 Sept 93 Volume 2 : Issue 112
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TRIBALS' CALL FOR STRIKE PARALYZES LIFE IN INDIA
NEW DELHI (UPI) -- Activity ground to a virtual halt Wednesday in a
strike called by native tribespeople demanding autonomy in the northern
Indian state of Bihar, the Press Trust of India news agency said.
The strikers are demanding the establishment of an autonomous council
for tribal areas with independent powers on issues of development, the
agency reported.
Security in south Bihar was put on "maximum alert" while the
administration and state police made elaborate arrangements to counter the
agitation, the news agency said.
A spokesman for the tribal agitators told PTI the strike would be
followed by an indefinite economic blockade.
Railway tracks and other vital installations were heavily guarded in the
neighboring areas of the mineral-rich region, the agency said.
An economic blockade last March led to clashes between police and
tribals armed with bows and arrows. The tribespeople blew up railway tracks
and a crucial cable line used for transporting bauxite ore from a
government-operated mine in the state.
A 15-day economic blockade by the tribals last year was marked by
widespread violence that cost the country millions of dollars in lost
production.
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