Janakpur, April 6:

The Janakpur-Jayanagar rail service has gone on the blink since morning due to disturbance created by the Maoists.

The rail service in the section ground to a halt after Maoists set fire to the sleepers near Parwaha station last night, general manager of the railway office Bhola Nath Sharma said. “Since the damaged sleepers and clips need repairing, it will take at least five days

to resume the service,” Sharma said. The fire damaged 35 sleepers and some clips. Railway officials believe that the Maoists set fire to the railway property with the intention of disrupting the service on the eve of the general strike called by the seven-party alliance.

Maoists have obstructed the rail service more than six times during the last two months.

Large numbers of Indian devotees come to Janakpur on the occasion of Ram Nawami festival. Another group of Maoists exploded over half a dozen bombs at Gaushala of Mahottari last night. Details of the extent of damage are awaited, said the Janakpur Zonal Police Office.