Stepping up violence ahead of Independence Day, United Liberation Front of Assam blew up a gas pipeline, a steel bridge and a transformer across Assam, police said in Guwahati on Tuesday.

Militants blew up an Oil India Limited gas pipeline at Disaibotha in Sibsagar late Monday night leading to extensive loss of gas and affecting supply to several tea gardens. The banned outfit also blasted a steel bridge on Namsai-Bordumsa road along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. But no major damage or casualty was reported, official sources said.

In another incident on Monday night, they blew up a transformer in a Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) powerhouse at Narengi under Noonmati police station, affecting power supply in the area. Repair and restoration work is on and power supply is expected to be restored soon, the sources said.

Meanwhile, a major disaster was averted in Jorhat town when the police defused a time bomb found in front of two adjacent schools about five minutes before it was to explode yesterday, the sources said.