Tripura: Protesting Ration Woes, Bru Families Block Traffic on Ambassa-Ganda Twisa Road
Representational Image. Image Courtesy: PTI
New Delhi: Traffic movement came to a standstill on the Ambassa-Ganda Twisa road in Tripura's Dhalai district today as thousands of newly settled Bru families staged a road blockade, demanding urgent solutions to their ration and pension issues.
According to a report published in EastMojo, protestors from the recently established settlements of Kananta Para and Jagabandhu Kasrai Para expressed their frustration, claiming that none of the families were receiving sufficient ration materials for survival. Additionally, they highlighted the pending monthly pension of Rs 5,000 for the past five months.
SDPO Gand Twisa subdivision, Bapi Debbarma, confirmed to EastMojo the gravity of the situation, stating, "So far, the protestors have refused to relent. We have deployed adequate security personnel to avoid any tension."
SDM Arindam Das and Additional District Magistrate of Dhalai district attempted to negotiate with the agitators, but their efforts proved unsuccessful. As of the latest update, a meeting is ongoing to address the concerns raised by the Bru families.
Gandacherra, a remote subdivision sharing international borders with Bangladesh, and Ambassa, the district headquarters of Dhalai, are currently cut off from each other due to the road blockade that has been in effect for the past ten hours.
A protest leader highlighted the key demands of the Bru migrants. He told East Mojo, "A total of 3,494 people from 674 families have settled in two new areas as part of the quadripartite agreement signed in January 2020. Despite being over a year old, the settlements still face irregularities in the monthly pension, with no allowances received for the last five months."
He further added, "An amount of Rs 5,000 earmarked for transportation during the settlement process is also pending. The most pressing issue is the breakdown in ration supply, as only 1,458 individuals out of the 3,494 settlers have been enrolled in the online beneficiary register. We demand prompt resolution to all these problems."
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