Agartala, Jun 12: Members of the two militant organisations, which had signed a peace agreement two years ago, launched a 72-hour rail-road blockade in West Tripura district on Friday, demanding the implementation of a Rs 250 crore rehabilitation package announced by the Centre.
The blockade by the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) disrupted vehicular movement on national highways and train services, an official said.
“We had a meeting with Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma yesterday where we reached some positive outcomes, but two important demands were not fulfilled, prompting us to launch the rail-road blockade”, NLFT leader Prasenjit Debbarma told reporters at Hatai Katar in West Tripura district.
The government has engaged an agency to implement the rehabilitation package for the surrendered militants, which “violates the main spirit of the peace accord,” he claimed.
A Memorandum of Settlement was signed, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, among the Centre, the Tripura government and the two organisations in September 2024.
“The process of screening our members to extend benefits under the rehabilitation package is very slow. We demanded that the process be expedited at the earliest”, the NLFT leader said.
He appealed to the Centre and the state government to consider the demands of the organisations because the blockade causes inconvenience to the people.
“We are waiting for a call from the Centre and the state government for an amicable solution to our long-standing problem”, he said.
The train services were badly affected, while vehicular movement came to a standstill on the Assam-Agartala and Agartala-Kamalpur national highways. (PTI)
