Agartala, 21st August 2026: A former militant organisation in Tripura has announced an indefinite blockade of national highways and railway tracks from August 28, alleging that the state government has failed to fulfil assurances made to them.
The announcement came on Friday after a delegation of the former insurgent group visited the Civil Secretariat to meet Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma. However, the delegation claimed that they were not allowed to meet the minister and subsequently staged a protest on the Secretariat premises for several hours. Police personnel later arrived at the spot.
Speaking to the media, members of the organisation alleged that they had called for protests three times over the past few months. On each occasion, they claimed, Minister Debbarma and officials of the department had held discussions with them and urged them to withdraw their agitation, assuring them that their demands and benefits would be discussed with the government.
However, the organisation alleged that the assurances had not been fulfilled.The group said that on August 18, Minister Debbarma had visited Baramura and assured them that a meeting would be held with them on August 21. Based on that assurance, the delegation arrived at the Secretariat on Friday to attend the meeting.
The members alleged that the minister failed to honour his commitment, prompting them to stage a protest.The organisation has now decided to begin an indefinite blockade of national highways and railway tracks from August 28. Its leaders said they would block the national highway at Sadhupura in Jirania and launch an indefinite hunger strike.
The development comes amid repeated protests by former insurgent groups in the state over their demands for rehabilitation and various government benefits.
