Railway services paralysed across Tripura amid bandh over immigration, autonomy demands

Rail transport across Tripura came to a standstill on Wednesday as a bandh called by the Tripura Civil Society disrupted train operations across the state. The shutdown, held to demand the detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, the introduction of the Inner Line Permit, and the implementation of the Tiprasa Accord, led to widespread cancellations and delays.

Protesters began blocking railway tracks from around 7:25 am at several points along the Dharmanagar–Agartala section, forcing the suspension of multiple services.

According to the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), seven trains were cancelled and several others were short-terminated or held at different stations due to the blockade. Train No. 55676 (Dharmanagar–Agartala Passenger) was terminated at Ambassa, while Train No. 15664 (Silchar–Agartala Express) ended its journey at Karimganj. Its return service, Train No. 15663 (Agartala–Silchar Express), originated from Karimganj instead of Agartala.

Local DMU services, including the Agartala–Sabroom and Agartala–Karimganj routes, were also cancelled for the day.

Long-distance trains were similarly hit. Train No. 07030 (Charlapalli–Agartala Special), which started on 20 October, was held at Dharmanagar. The Sabroom–Sealdah Kanchanjungha Express and Agartala–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Superfast Express, both scheduled to depart today, were detained at Agartala and Jirania, respectively.

Chief Public Relations Officer Kapinjal Kishore Sharma confirmed the disruptions and advised passengers to check for the latest updates before travelling. Railway officials said services would resume once the tracks are cleared and normal conditions return.