Traffic came to a halt in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh after suspected Maoists trigger a blast damaging the national highway.
The Maoist insurgency has become India's gravest security threat, and claimed 400 lives this year.
Suspected Maoists triggered a blast on the national highway in the Darbha region of India's state of Chattisgarh.
The suspected rebels set off a landmine just prior to dusk on Sunday. But nobody was injured in the blast.
[R. P. Dhruv, Station Officer of Darbha]: (male, Hindi)
"Nothing happened to the bridge but the adjacent national highway 221 is damaged and due to the blast a pit of five to six feet has come up on the road.”
Truck drivers say they’re frustrated by all this.
[Dilbagh Singh, Truck Driver]: (male, Hindi)
"This is a painful incident and some measures should be taken to stop these kinds of incidents."
Maoist attacks intensified this year, especially after the government launched a coordinated security offensive to flush out the rebels from their jungle hideouts.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the Maoists India's gravest internal security threat. Four hundred people have died this year in an insurgency that has been simmering for nearly four decades.