Normal life hit as Congress calls 12-hour bandh in Tripura's Unakoti district

Agartala, Sept 11: Normal life was affected due to a 12-hour bandh called by the Tripura unit of the Congress in Kailashahar in Unakoti district, on Thursday.

The Congress called the bandh, which started at 6 am, in support of its 11-point charter of demands, including the revival of Kailashahar airport and extension of the railway link to the town, which is the district headquarters of Unakoti.

Congress Legislature Party leader Birajit Sinha claimed the bandh has been successful with people's support.

"The revival of Kailashahar airport is important because of the changing security challenges in the border town. Bangladesh has reportedly developed an airbase at Samserganj, which is on the other side of the border. Therefore, we demand the revival of our dormant airport due to strategic reasons," he said.

Sinha claimed that at least 250 Congress workers, including district president Badruzzaman, have been detained by the police for enforcing the bandh.

Earlier in the day, Congress leaders and workers blocked roads in some areas by burning tyres.

Educational institutions, markets, and banks remained closed, while vehicles stayed off the roads. Government offices, including the Public Works Department and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate’s office, saw only partial attendance from senior officials, with overall employee presence low. Shops across Kailashahar largely remained shut in support of the bandh.

No untoward incident has been reported during the bandh so far, the police said.

"As of now, the situation in Kailashahar is peaceful and under control. We have asked the political party to observe the bandh peacefully. Police will take strict action if any attempt is made to incite violence," Unakoti SP Sudhambika R told the press.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged strong opposition to the strike. Led by Kailashahar Mandal president Pritam Ghosh, thousands of BJP workers held bike rallies across the town from early morning.

Ghosh said, “The Congress has called for a meaningless bandh that harms people’s livelihoods. We are spreading awareness among citizens and urging them to return to work.”

On Wednesday, Kailashahar saw heightened tension with incidents of vehicle vandalism, assaults on drivers, and allegations of bribery against police personnel reported from several areas.

Responding to the allegations, SP Sudhambika R. said, “There were some minor incidents during the bandh, but no major untoward situation occurred.”

With inputs from PTI