Kolkata, Jan 13 (IANS) Suburban train services and road traffic were disrupted Wednesday and thousands of Ganga Sagar-bound pilgrims inconvenienced following a 12-hour shutdown in South 24 Parganas district called by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
With CPI-M activists squatting on railway tracks at stations, train services in the Sealdah South section came to a standstill, an Eastern Railway spokesman said.

A large number of harried pilgrims were stranded at Sealdah station, waiting for the elusive train to take them somewhere close to the Hindu pilgrim destination of Ganga Sagar.

CPI-M activists carrying red flags also stopped buses and vehicles on the roads, including the city’s vital arterial Eastern Metropolitan bypass, while shops, markets and offices in the area remained closed.

The shutdown has been called in protest against the killing of four CPI-M activists allegedly by Trinamool Congress activists Monday. The Trinamool has denied its involvement in the murders.