NEW DELHI, June 3 (RIA Novosti) - Around 50,000 passengers are stuck on roads and railways in northwest India as local farmers entered the second week of a nationwide strike on Tuesday, local TV reported.

The farmers, members of the Gujjar ethnic group, have blocked the country's railroads and highways in the state of Rajasthan, demanding scheduled tribe status which would give them greater access to education and employment benefits.

Local media reported that some 30 strikers have so far died in clashes with police. More than 50 trains passing through Rajasthan have been cancelled, and several others diverted.

In a similar strike in India last year, a total of 26 people, including police officers, died and several trains and police checkpoints were destroyed.