BY TC News Desk
Agartala Nov 28: Farmers of nine villages under Jampui Farmers Union (JAMFU) launched an indefinite strike on Monday in a bid to highlight the plight of the areca nut growers due to the non-transportation of their products to Assam.
Once known for orange cultivation, locals in the hill range of North Tripura switched to areca nut cultivation long time back.Unlike previous few years, this year too, the orange cultivation did not prove wholesome for the farmers of Jampui hills.
Reportedly, over 2000 families live in the Jampui Hills and out of these, over 1500 families make a living on betel plantations. The farmers alleged that this year they are not able to sell the areca nuts properly following which their livelihood is in trouble.
The areca nut produced in Tripura including Jampui Hills used to the transported to the brokers in Assam, where it is processed or sold to higher dealers or companies each year.This year, the concerned authority in Assam has been denying the entry of areca nut-carrying vehicles even with proper documents issued by the department of horticulture, Tripura.Monday morning, the betel nut farmers under JAMFU sat for indefinite protest and blocked the road.
Secretary of the Union, Lalnundika said, “We placed a memorandum to the BDO of Vanghmun with our demands and if our demands are not met, we won’t withdraw the protests”.Meanwhile, protests are still on as no authority came to meet the agitating areca nut growers till the time of writing the report.
