Against forest encroachment by ex-militants Locals protest

Agartala: Locals of Kanchanpur sub-division of North Tripura district on Tuesday blocked the main highway to protest against the forced encroachment of reserve forest areas in the Manu-Mangpui region by a group of surrendered militants.

However, after consulting the local police station, the blockade was lifted within half an hour, as confirmed by Kanchanpur police station OC Udhyam Debbarma.

Speaking on the sidelines of the protests, a protester said, “A large group of surrendering militants have set up bamboo structures inside the reserve forest areas and have also arbitrarily captured the lands of local tribal communities. have taken, who were allowed to use the land on a lease agreement. Although SDM Kanchanpur Rajat Pant warned the encroachers to stop construction in the forest land, they refused to stop construction.
The protesters demanded an end to encroachment on reserve forest areas, and threatened to intensify their protests if their demands were not met.

Protesters gathered at Kanchanpur Bazar around 11 am and blocked the main road disrupting the normal movement of traffic.
“A team of police personnel reached the spot and spoke to the agitators. After being assured by the police, the locals lifted the blockade and paved the way for normalcy. We have informed him that the matter was already referred to the highest end of the civil administration and Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha himself is looking into the matter at the civil secretariat,” Debbarma told the media.
Speaking on the matter, SDM Rajat Pant said that he had visited the area in question and also held a meeting with ex-militants who are seeking a rehabilitation package from the state.
“According to their estimates, there are 1,235 destitute returnee families who have not received any benefits from the state government as per the peace agreement. Fed up with the government’s apathy, ex-militants have resorted to this kind of construction. From, we have asked them to submit all relevant documents to prove their claims. We have also forwarded the matter to the higher authorities and are awaiting a response,” Pant said on April 11. told a day after his visit.