Agartala, Sep 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) Hundreds of surrendered extremists, including women, belonging to two insurgent outfits continued their blockade of vital National Highways and a solitary railway line for the second consecutive day on Saturday, severely affecting the movement of all types of vehicles and disrupting rail services in Tripura, officials said.
According to police officials, around 400 surrendered extremists, including some women, belonging to different factions of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), continued their 72-hour blockade of highways and railway lines that began on Friday.
They are protesting the alleged non-implementation of key provisions of a tripartite rehabilitation agreement signed with the Centre and the Tripura government on September 4, 2024.
Senior officials, including West Tripura District Magistrate and Collector Vishal Kumar, held a marathon meeting with representatives of the agitating NLFT and ATTF members, but the talks remained inconclusive as the protesters remained firm on continuing their agitation.
A police official said that due to the blockade, vehicles of all types, including passenger buses and goods-laden trucks, were unable to ply, disrupting normal life in several parts of the state. National Highway-8, the surface lifeline of Tripura, was blocked at three places in West Tripura and Khowai districts, causing major disruption to road connectivity.
In view of the agitation, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) cancelled, rescheduled or short-terminated 10 express and local trains, disrupting rail services across the state.
The affected trains included the Anand Vihar Terminal-Agartala, Bengaluru-Agartala, Agartala-Bengaluru and Sealdah-Agartala services, among others.
A large number of security personnel, including personnel of the Tripura State Rifles (TSR), led by senior police officials, have been deployed in the blockade areas to deal with the situation and maintain law and order.
After holding a meeting with the agitating surrendered militants, District Magistrate Vishal Kumar hinted that the administration may take action if the protesters continue to block roads and railway lines.
A spokesman for the surrendered militants, Jibonjoy Reang, said that many of the surrendered cadres remain homeless and are facing serious hardship due to the non-availability of livelihood opportunities that were assured by the state government. He said the government had assured economic rehabilitation for all surrendered NLFT and ATTF members, but alleged that little had been done so far to fulfil those commitments.
Reang said the cadres had responded to the government's appeal, surrendered their arms and joined the mainstream, but the government had yet to fulfil its assurances and implement the provisions of the tripartite agreement. “We are ready to withdraw our blockade if we get a written assurance from the state government. If the state government remains silent on our genuine demands, we will launch an indefinite agitation across the state in support of our demands and the economic rehabilitation of the surrendered NLFT and ATTF cadres,” Reang told the media.
The NLFT and ATTF cadres surrendered to the Tripura government and subsequently laid down their arms and ammunition before Chief Minister Manik Saha on September 24, 2024, after signing a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the state government the same day. The tripartite agreement was signed in New Delhi in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha.
Former NLFT leader Prasanjit Debbarma said that the Central government had announced a rehabilitation package worth Rs 250 crore, which included provisions for economic assistance, livelihood generation, welfare measures and other initiatives aimed at ensuring a secure and sustainable future for those who had abandoned insurgency and joined the democratic mainstream.
The agitating groups, however, claimed that their demands, including economic rehabilitation and withdrawal of cases against the surrendered cadres, had not yet been fulfilled.
The issues concerning the surrendered militants were also discussed during the recently concluded monsoon session of the Tripura Assembly.
The Chief Minister told the House that economic and other benefits have to be provided to the surrendered militants as per the stipulated rules.
Opposition parties, including the CPI (M) and the Congress, have criticised the state government for allegedly failing to take appropriate steps to resolve the problems and address the demands of the surrendered NLFT and ATTF militants.
Source: IANS
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