Agartala, 6th August 2026: The CPI(M) Sub-Divisional Committee staged a protest in Khowai on Thursday, demanding immediate repair of the Khowai-Agartala road via Subalsing and the Khowai-Kamalpur National Highway, alleging corruption, poor workmanship and administrative negligence in the execution of road projects.
DYFI State President Palash Bhowmik and local MLA Nirmal Biswas addressed the protest and criticised the BJP-led “double-engine” government over the deteriorating condition of the highways. They also announced a sit-in demonstration in front of the NHIDCL office in Agartala later in the day.
Bhowmik strongly questioned Chief Minister Manik Saha’s recent remark that Tripura’s soil quality was responsible for the poor condition of newly constructed roads. He pointed out that older roads, including the Khowai-Agartala route via Subalsing and the Udaipur-Sabroom National Highway, were built under similar climatic and geographical conditions and questioned why soil was being blamed only for the newer roads.
He referred to a July 1 meeting in Delhi chaired by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, claiming that the PWD Secretary subsequently acknowledged that substandard materials and poor workmanship had contributed to the roads’ deterioration and that the concerned agency had been removed.
MLA Nirmal Biswas alleged that the executing contractor, Sagar Construction Group, had abandoned the project after receiving crores of rupees and was later blacklisted. He said the road had become so hazardous that ambulances were getting stranded.
Biswas also recalled the Chief Minister’s assembly assurance that the work would be completed by July 2024, saying the deadline had passed without completion. He added that following a July 21 high-level meeting, an NHIDCL delegation inspected the road on July 24 in the presence of its Executive Director from Delhi, during which the termination of the contractor’s agreement was reportedly confirmed.
The CPI(M) leaders demanded immediate steps to make the highway motorable and fix responsibility for the alleged irregularities.
