Agartala, June 8 (IANS) Hundreds of surrendered extremists belonging to the now-disbanded National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) on Monday threatened to launch a 72-hour blockade of highways and railway lines from June 12, protesting the alleged non-implementation of key provisions of a tripartite rehabilitation agreement signed with the Centre and the Tripura government.

Leaders of the surrendered militants, while announcing the proposed blockade, claimed that despite repeated assurances, the government has yet to fulfil several commitments made under the tripartite agreement signed on September 4, 2024, in New Delhi.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, senior political leaders, and officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Tripura government.

Under the agreement, NLFT and ATTF militants formally surrendered before Chief Minister Saha during a ceremony held at the headquarters of the 7th Battalion of the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) at Jampuijala in Sepahijala district on September 24, 2024.

At the ceremony, cadres of the two insurgent outfits laid down a substantial cache of arms and ammunition and returned to the mainstream under the state’s peace and rehabilitation process.

Former NLFT leader Prasanjit Debbarma said that around 1,200 former militants had surrendered before the Government of India and the Tripura government under various peace accords with the expectation of rehabilitation and socio-economic reintegration.

He alleged that several commitments made under the tripartite agreement remain unfulfilled despite repeated appeals and representations submitted to the authorities over the years.

Debbarma further claimed that although more than two years have passed since many former militants renounced violence and returned to normal life, only 79 cadres have so far been identified as beneficiaries of the rehabilitation package.

According to him, the Central government had announced a rehabilitation package worth Rs 250 crore, which included provisions for economic assistance, livelihood generation, welfare measures and other initiatives aimed at ensuring a secure and sustainable future for those who abandoned insurgency and joined the democratic mainstream.

However, the surrendered militants alleged that a large number of former cadres continue to face financial difficulties and social hardships because several provisions of the package have not been implemented in full.

The leaders of the surrendered militants said that they had submitted several memoranda outlining their grievances to both the state and Central governments on multiple occasions, including recently to Chief Minister Manik Saha, Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma and Chief Secretary J.K. Sinha, but claimed that no concrete response had been received.

“Getting no response from the government to our demands and issues, we are compelled to launch a 72-hour blockade of national highways and railway lines at least at three locations in West Tripura and Khowai districts,” Prasanjit Debbarma told the media.

The surrendered militants also warned that if their demands remain unresolved, they would intensify their agitation and could extend the blockade for an indefinite period.

Following the surrender of NLFT and ATTF militants, Chief Minister Saha, who also holds the Home portfolio, had stated that the decades-old insurgency in Tripura had effectively come to an end, marking a significant milestone in the state’s peace process.

–IANS

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