Kolkata: Rail and road links connecting West Bengal to states like Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu have been disrupted for the past five days due to blockades by two Kurmi community organisations demanding Scheduled Tribe status, media reports said.

Due to the rail blockade, both long-distance and local passengers are facing difficulties.

These organisations are protesting for several demands, including the recognition of their community as a scheduled tribe, recognition of the 'Sarna' religion, and inclusion of the Kurmali language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, reported India Today.

Kurmi organisations are on their fifth day of protests demanding a Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for their community.

The agitators have blocked railway tracks and roads in several parts of West Bengal, forcing the authorities to cancel nearly 500 long and short-distance trains over the past few days, said the report.

On Sunday, around 95 trains were cancelled due to the ongoing protests by Kurmi organisations on important sections of the South Eastern Railway.

Despite an emergency meeting held with administration heads on Saturday evening, there was no resolution to the deadlock.

The protests also resulted in hundreds of stranded vehicles on NH 6, leading to major traffic congestion on adjoining roads in Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram districts.

In a statement issued by South Easter Railway, it said, "Train services of South Eastern Railway have been partially affected due to ongoing agitation by a group of people at Kustaur Station in Adra Division and Khemasuli Station in Kharagpur Division from 05.04.2023 and proposed agitation at Kotshila station in Adra Division on 09.04.2023. However, the reasons of the agitations are not related to railways. As a result of the agitation, a total of 496 trains have been cancelled since 05.04.2023."

According to the India Today report, the cancelled trains are :

18478 Yog Nagari Rishikesh - Puri Express

18011 Howrah- Chakradharpur Express

18019 Jhargram-Dhanbad MEMU Express

18020 Dhanbad-Jhargram MEMU Express

22844 Patna-Bilaspur Express

18013 Howrah-Bokaro Steel City Express

12021 Howrah-Barbil Jan Shatabdi Express

12022 Barbil-Howrah Jan Shatabdi Express

12102 Howrah-LTT Express

12129 Pune –Howrah Azad Hind Express

12130 Howrah-Pune Azad Hind Express

12261 Mumbai CSMT-Howrah Duranto Express

12801 Puri-New Delhi Express

12802 New Delhi-Puri Express

12809 Mumbai CSMT-Howrah Mail

12810 Howrah- Mumbai CSMT Mail

12813 Tatanagar –Howrah Steel Express

12814 Howrah -Tatanagar Steel Express

12819 Bhubaneswar-Anand Vihar Express

12827 Howrah- Purulia Express

12828 Purulia -Howrah Express

12833 Ahmedabad -Howrah Express

12834 Howrah -Ahmedabad Express

12859 Mumbai CSMT- Howrah Gitanjali Express

12872 Titlagarh- Howrah Ispat Express

12875 Puri -Anand Vihar Express

12876 Anand Vihar -Puri Express

12883 Santragachi-Purulia Express

12884 Purulia- Howrah Express

13287 Durg -Rajendranagar Express

13288 Rajendranagar-Durg Express

13301 Dhanbad-Tatanagar Express

13302 Tatanagar- Dhanbad Express

13351 Dhanbad- Alappuzha Express

13352 Alappuzha-Dhanbad Express

13511 Asansol -Tatanagar Express

13512 Tatanagar- Asansol Express

18005 Howrah -Jagdalpur Express

18006 Jagdalpur- Howrah Express

180 12 Chakradharpur -Howrah Express

18014 Bokaro Steel City- Howrah Express

18019 Jhargram -Dhanbad MEMU Express

18020 Dhanbad-Jhargram MEMU Express

18029 LTT-Shalimar Express

18033 Howrah-Ghatsila Express

18034 Ghatsila-Howrah Express

18035 Kharagpur-Hatia Express

18036 Hatia -Kharagpur Express

18085 Kharagpur- Ranchi MEMU Express

18086 Ranchi -Kharagpur MEMU Express

18115 Gomoh- Chakradharpur MEMU Express

18116 Chakradharpur -Gomoh MEMU Express

18182 Thawe -Tatanagar Express

18183 Tatanagar- Danapur Express

18184 Danapur -Tatanagar Express

18615 Howrah- Hatia Express

18616 Hatia- Howrah Express

22861 Howrah- Kantabanji Express

28181 Tatanagar-Katihar Express

15028 Gorakhpur- Hatia Express

18623 Islampur- Hatia Express

13319 Dumka -Ranchi Express

13304 Ranchi -Dhanbad Express

02832 Bhubaneswar- Dhanbad Special

05672 Ranchi- Kamakhya Special

12365 Patna -Ranchi Jan Shatabdi Express

12366 Ranchi -Patna Jan Shatabdi Express

12817 Hatia -Anand Vihar Express

12869 Mumbai CSMT- Howrah Express

13320 Ranchi -Dumka Express

13403 Ranchi -Bhagalpur Express

13404 Bhagalpur-Ranchi Express

13503 Bardhaman- Hatia MEMU Express

13504 Hatia -Bardhaman MEMU Express

15027 Hatia -Gorakhpur Express

17006 Raxaul- Hyderabad Express

18010 Ajmer -Santragachi Express

18601 Tatanagar- Hatia Express

18602 Hatia -Tatanagar Express

18604 Godda-Ranchi Express

18619 Ranchi -Godda Express

18620 Godda -Ranchi Express

18621 Patna -Hatia Express

18622 Hatia -Patna Express

18624 Hatia- Islampur Express

18625 Purnia Court -Hatia Express

18626 Hatia -Purnia Court Express

18627 Howrah- Ranchi Express

18628 Ranchi- Howrah Express

18639 Ranchi -Ara Express

20818 New Delhi -Bhuneshwar Rajdhani Express

20972 Udaipur-Shalimar Express

22905 Okha -Shalimar Express

15028 Gorakhpur- Hatia Express

18106 Jainagar-Rourkela Express