Palghar (Maharashtra), Feb 16 (IANS): Protesters in Maharashtra agitating against the Pulwama terror attack that left 49 CRPF troopers dead held up trains on the crucial Mumbai-Delhi Western Railway (WR) route for four hours during the peak morning time, police said.

The Maharashtra Police had to resort to mild caning to disperse the crowd that staged the rail blockade till 1 p.m., an official said.

Since dawn, hundreds of people carrying placards and banners, shouting anti-Pakistan and anti-terror slogans, trooped on the roads in major towns like Virar, Nala Sopara, Vasai and adjoining Mira Road in Thane district.

Shopkeepers and business establishments also joined them by a spontaneous shutdown but the problem erupted after some demonstrators squatted on the railway tracks at Nala Sopara and blocked all suburban and long-distance trains during the morning peak hours.

As the agitated crowd grew, the police, Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) rushed to the site and attempted to pacify the squatters, requesting them to allow the passage of trains.

However, they remained adamant and all train services remained blocked for nearly four hours till 1 p.m., sending all schedules haywire and many people could not board trains to reach their place of work in Mumbai, Thane and other places.

Finally, the police were compelled to resort to mild caning to disperse the mobs before the situation got out of control and cleared the WR tracks to help resume the train operations.

After several hours, the situation in Nala Sopara and surroundings returned to normal, though traffic on internal roads in various towns and the Mumbai-Agra Western Express Highway was also severely hit due to the agitation.

As a precautionary measure, the GRP-RPF have strengthened security at major stations on the suburban network - the city's lifeline that is used by over eight million commuters daily in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad.

In the worst ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in 1989, a suicide bomber on Thursday rammed his vehicle packed with explosives into a CRPF bus on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwama district, killing at least 40 troopers on the spot. The toll rose 49 on Friday as several injured succumbed.

The attack has left the security establishment stunned as it created the biggest casualty of security personnel in a single day in peace time.