BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 10th September 2025: In a bid to save Tripura’s ailing rubber industry, hundreds of rubber growers took to the streets of Agartala today in a protest march organized by the Tripura State Rubber Producers’ Society and the All India Krishak Sabha. The demonstrators submitted a mass deputation to the Chief Secretary, pressing a 21-point charter of demands aimed at reviving the sector.
The rally commenced from Bhanu Ghosh Smriti Bhavan here and culminated in a public meeting at Orient Chowmuhani, where leaders called on both the government and the public to take urgent notice of the crisis.
Among the key demands were the recognition of rubber as an agricultural crop, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations for profitable support prices for all farm produce, and an immediate declaration of Rs 300 per kilogram as the minimum support price (MSP) for rubber. Protesters also urged the state government and the Rubber Board to facilitate procurement of rubber at the MSP.
Pabitra Kar, Secretary of the All India Krishak Sabha’s Tripura unit, highlighted the severity of the situation, stating that rubber cultivation in the state is facing an existential threat. “There is no expansion of plantations, prices have plummeted, market demand has weakened, and diseases are affecting rubber trees. We had no choice but to take to the streets,” he said.
