Palghar: A mob of over 700 people blocked trains on the Western Railway between Vaitarna and Saphale for over two hours this morning, in protest against the auction of sand-lifting in the region.
According to railway sources, the protest began at about 7.30 am, with the 124 UP Valsad-Mumbai Central fast passenger the first to be halted. Subsequently the 2952 UP Rajdhani Express to Mumbai was also held up, Western Railway spokesperson Bhagwat Dahisarkar said. Among the trains headed northwards that were affected were the 2009 DN Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express that was halted at Virar, and the Virar-Surat shuttle.
Bidding opens tomorrow for the state governments proposed auction of sand-lifting. Tribals want the existing royalty system to continue as they would not be able to compete under the auction and would thus be deprived of a livelihood. About 1.25 lakh people in the region could be hit by the new government scheme.
Hundreds of thousands of people travelling to work in Palghar, Bhoisar, Tarapur, Dahanu industrial areas as well as Vapi and Surat in Gujarat have been affected today.
A similar road blockade at Vasai and Manor on Tuesday disrupted traffic on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway number 8 for five hours on Tuesday.
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