Tripura: Surrendered militant bodies give ultimatum to government, threaten to block national highway

Various surrendered militant organization under the banner of Deprived Returnees Movement Committee (DRMC) has again threatened to go for indefinite blockade of the National Highway from coming November 5 as they alleged that despite the repeated commitment by the state government none of their demands has been fulfilled as of yet.

Giving an ultimatum till October 30 to the Tripura government for fulfilling their demands, Amrit Reang, general secretary of the DRMC, an organisation of around 1000 surrendered militants has threatened that jointly with three other similar organizations - the Joint Action Committee (JAC), TYRPC and JARC they shall go for indefinite blockade the Assam-Agartala National Highway 08 at Champaknagar.

He said that during four meetings they had repeatedly placed a nine-point charter of demands before the state government and the last meeting was held in the chamber of tribal welfare minister Ram Pada Jamatia who held two consequent meetings with the returnee insurgent leaders in June and July this year and commitment to fulfil their demands but unfortunately those are still in papers.

Reang said, “None of the promises which are mentioned in the signed minutes after our meeting in the chamber of Tribal Welfare Minister has happened. Every time we declare for agitation a meeting with taking place but after that nothing happens so we have no other option but to go for an indefinite blockade of the national highway which earlier twice we had deferred after the Minister promised to look into.”

The demands include compensation for returnees, rubber plantations for rehabilitation, housing under PMAY, benefits under various schemes of agriculture and horticulture, tractors for cultivation, schemes under animal resource development, education for their children and withdrawal of pending police and court cases against them.