AGRATALA, April 6 � Thousands of displaced people today blocked the Assam-Agartala National Highway (NH-44) at Reshambagan area demanding proper rehabilitation for the families affected owing to erection of barbed wire fencing along the Indo-Bangla border .
Displaced villagers under the banner of Tripura Shimanta Bhoomi Suraksha Committee (TSBSC) gathered there and chanted slogans against the Left Front government and then stalled the vehicular movement on the NH-44 for around 4 hours amid tight security.
Pradesh Congress president Surajit Datta flagged off the agitation at 12 pm in presence several party leaders including MLA Subal Bhowmik, president of TSBSC. In his brief speech, Datta rendered full support to the movement spearheaded by party MLA saying that PCC would support the affected villagers so that they could get proper commensuration from the government. �Even the AICC has given full back to the spontaneous movement of the displaced families for justice,� he said.
However, Bhowmik, who has been spearheading the movement for the affected people for the past few years, was vocal against the attitude of the Left Front government.
�Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has no time to meet the displaced people for past 11 years but he had time for election campaign outside the States like Assam, West Bengal and Kerala,� he said. According to him over 8500 families living along the Indo-Bangla border have been affected due to erection of barbed wire fencing. �But the State government did nothing to help the affected families,� he said adding that the fence- victim would continue to intensify their movement unless their legitimate demands are not met.
Bhowmik declared that affected families would organize a civil-disobedience movement and march to jails on May 11 next for meaningful compensation.
�We want fencing to come up along zero-line or meaningful compensation to those families badly affected due to erection of fencing,� he said adding that people of the State are very much upset over the performance of the Left Front government.
Highlighting the woes of the border people, Bhowmik said that huge fertile land has gone out of the fencing where cultivation is not possible due to safety. �Bangladeshi miscreants often take away crops from the land which falls beyond fencing causing a huge loss to the border people,� he pointed out.
