KOLKATA, Nov 12: India's state of West Bengal came to a standstill on Monday as a strike was held in protest at the killing of villagers opposed to the establishment of a massive industrial park.

Bus and train services were disrupted and businesses shut as the strike, called by parties opposed to the state's ruling Marxists, took effect amid reports of fresh tensions in Nandigram, one of the hotspots of recent violence.

Schools and colleges were closed as the state's main opposition Trinamool Congress Party and Hindu nationalists joined the strike to protest the deaths of three people there at the weekend.

Organisers had said the strike would be indefinite but the Trinamool Congress and other parties said late on Monday it would be called off on Tuesday.

Earlier on Monday, the state capital Kolkata was deserted, with people and traffic off the roads, although security remained tight throughout the city.

Protestors set fire to buses and torched a railway station near Kolkata as thousands of police were deployed across the state, police said. More than 200 people were detained for blocking roads and railway tracks.

The Marxists want to set up a privately-run special economic zone (SEZ), a scheme endorsed by the government as central to India's drive to boost economic growth and lure foreign investment.

But villagers opposed to the acquisition of 14,500 acres (about 5,900 hectares) of land for a petrochemical hub to be set up by Indonesia's Salim Group have taken to the streets.

More than 20 people have been killed since March in a series of clashes over plans for the SEZ.

Senior West Bengal police official Raj Kanojia said 1,000 paramilitary troops despatched by the federal home ministry on Saturday to restore order in Nandigram had reached the village.

“Central security forces are now taking control of the situation in Nandigram. There have been sporadic clashes in the village ... but no major incident was reported today,” he said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is on an official visit to Russia, was monitoring the situation in Nandigram and was in touch with West Bengal's Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, the Press Trust of India reported.

Singh's Congress party in a statement said it was “disturbed” by the violence.

“Violence, killing, arson, looting and in some cases even rape have been alleged to be committed by miscreants. From the news, reported in the media, it appears that the writ of the state government does not run in that area,” it said.

“This situation is totally unacceptable,” it said, adding “We hope that normalcy will be restored without delay.” So far, India has approved 366 SEZs that have brought in Rs477 billion ($12 billion) in investment, trade ministry figures released last month said.

There are 149 enclaves already operational, employing more than 40,000 people. The job numbers are expected to swell to 1.5 million by December 2009.

The government also hopes the zones will generate $25 billion worth of exports in 2008-2009.—AFP