Photo source: Tipra Motha Party (IANS)
Agartala, October 23 (IANS) The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on Thursday cancelled, short-terminated, or controlled nine trains, including four express trains, in Tripura due to the blockade of railway tracks at several points by activists of the Tipra Motha Party (TMP)-affiliated civil society.
The Tiprasa Civil Society (TCS), led by TMP MLA Ranjit Debbarma, observed a 24-hour shutdown in Tripura in support of its eight-point demands, including the deportation of illegal migrants.
NFR Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said four Express trains, including Sabroom (Tripura) – Sealdah Kanchanjungha Express, Charlapalli (Hyderabad) – Agartala, Silchar – Agartala Express and Agartala-Silchar Express, along with five other local trains, were short-terminated or controlled or cancelled.
Due to the sudden cancellation and short-termination of several important express and local trains, thousands of passengers were left in a difficult situation.
Sharma said that bandh supporters and picketers blocked railway tracks in several places in Tripura since Thursday morning, forcing the NFR to take these steps.
A senior police official said that to make the shutdown successful, picketers carrying national flags organised sit-in demonstrations at more than 52 key locations and highways across the state, and in a few places along the railway tracks in West Tripura and Khowai districts.
"There is no report of any untoward incident from anywhere in the state. The situation is quite under the control of the police and administration," the official said, adding that large contingents of security forces, including the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), were deployed across the state.
The Tiprasa Civil Society (TCS), led by TMP MLA Ranjit Debbarma, called the 24-hour shutdown on Thursday to highlight its eight-point charter of demands. The demands include the immediate implementation of the Tiprasa Accord, identification and deportation of all illegal immigrants, setting up of detention camps in each district for illegal immigrants, holding of elections to the Village Committees under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), and introduction of the Inner Line Permit system to prevent infiltration.
Debbarma, who is also a senior TMP leader, said that several BJP-ruled states, including Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Delhi, have taken steps against illegal migrants, but the Tripura government has yet to act despite directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
"The BJP government holds elections in all urban and rural bodies, but is not holding the elections to the Village Committees under the TTAADC," the tribal leader told the media.
