AGARTALA, Oct 23: A 24-hour bandh called by a newly formed non-governmental organisation, the Tripura Civil Society, demanding implementation of the Tiprasa Accord and detection of illegal immigrants and setting up of detention camps in each district, evoked a mixed response in the northeastern state on Thursday, officials said.
While the bandh, which started at 6 am, evoked a massive response in the hilly areas falling under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) – where Tipra Motha Party holds sway — with shops remaining closed and vehicles off the roads, the impact was relatively less in the plains, where normal life was not much affected.
“The bandh remained peaceful and no untoward incident has been reported till 10 am. The bandh supporters have blocked roads at 36 locations in the state, which has impacted vehicular movement. Train services have been affected from Agartala to Dharmanagar as picketers blocked the tracks but services remained normal from Agartala to Sabroom,” state police’s PRO Rajdeep Deb said.
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He said adequate security personnel have been mobilised in the sensitive areas and riot control arrangements made in some areas to thwart any untoward incident.
The NGO called the bandh on its eight-point charter of demands, which includes the implementation of Tiprasa Accord, identification of the illegal foreign immigrants in compliance with the directives of the Ministry of Home Affairs and setting up of a detention camp in each district.
While opposing the bandh, Chief Minister Manik Saha on Wednesday said that development can’t be stalled by observing strike in the state.
Without naming anyone, he said, “Although an NGO has called the bandh, people know who is behind it. Many NGOs have also opposed the strike.”
“The bandh call is aimed at grabbing media attention to send a message across the country that something is happening in Tripura but development can’t be stalled this way,” he told reporters at Takarjala in Sepahijala.
CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury on Wednesday opposed the bandh call, saying the demands on which the strike was called were not related to the people.
The Tiprasa Accord refers to the tripartite agreement signed between the Tipra Motha Party, the Centre and the Tripura government in March last year for socio economic development of the tribals in the northeastern state. (PTI)
