Damaged highway in Maoist-infested Purulia hits business, communication

Business and communication has been severely affected due to a very badly damaged Bokaro Highway that links West Bengal's Purulia District to Jharkhand capital Ranchi.

Villagers said that for the past 34 years, governments have changed, but road infrastructure has abysmally remained the same.

Since the road is in a bad state, no person from outside can reach us, and there is no business here due to this," said local businessman Bikram Dey.

Buses have stopped plying on this route, because of which villagers are not able to commute. The uneven, broken and water clogged highway has also caused a number of road accidents.

Purulia has been blessed with scenic beauty with many picnic spots and waterfalls.There is also a famous deer park in the vicinity of the town.

An Australian architect was so enchanted by the beauty of the area that he named his own home after Purulia.

But, unfortunately, government apathy and the frequent disruptions caused by Maoists has resulted in the total negligence and backwardness of the area.

The rebels have fought for decades in a wide swath of central and eastern India as well as parts of southern and western India, which boast of resource-rich regions where tensions run high between poor farmers and industrial developers.

The Maoist insurgents are estimated to number between 7000 hardcore fighters in nearly a third of India's 630 districts. While they have made few inroads into cities, they have spread into rural pockets in 20 of 28 states.

Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of poor and marginal farmers as well as landless labourers.