Agartala, September 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Surrendered extremists belonging to two insurgent outfits on Saturday evening withdrew their 72-hour blockade of National Highways and railway lines in Tripura following prolonged negotiations with senior police and civil officials.
The former insurgents had launched the blockade on Friday to protest the alleged non-implementation of key provisions of a tripartite rehabilitation agreement signed with the Centre and the Tripura government.
A police official said Deputy Inspector General of Police (Northern Range) Ratiranjan Debnath, West Tripura District Magistrate and Collector Vishal Kumar, Superintendent of Police Namit Pathak and other officials held prolonged discussions with the protesting surrendered militants.
“After a marathon persuasion and negotiations, the surrendered extremists agreed to withdraw their blockade,” the official said.
According to police, around 400 surrendered extremists, including women, belonging to different factions of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), had participated in the blockade since Friday.
They were protesting the alleged non-implementation of key provisions of the tripartite rehabilitation agreement signed with the Centre and the state government on September 4, 2024.
A marathon meeting between senior officials and representatives of the agitating NLFT and ATTF members on Friday failed to reach an agreement, with the protesters remaining firm on continuing their agitation.
The blockade disrupted road and rail connectivity across the state. Vehicles, including passenger buses and goods-laden trucks, were unable to operate normally.
National Highway-8, Tripura’s main surface connectivity route, was blocked at three locations in West Tripura and Khowai districts, causing major disruption.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) also cancelled, rescheduled or short-terminated 10 express and local trains in view of the agitation. The affected services included Anand Vihar Terminal-Agartala, Bengaluru-Agartala, Agartala-Bengaluru and Sealdah-Agartala trains, among others.
Security personnel, including Tripura State Rifles (TSR) personnel led by senior police officials, were deployed at the blockade sites to maintain law and order.
A spokesperson for the surrendered militants, Jibonjoy Reang, said many former cadres remained homeless and were facing serious hardship due to the lack of livelihood opportunities they had been promised.
Reang alleged that although the state government had assured economic rehabilitation for surrendered NLFT and ATTF members, little progress had been made in implementing the commitments.
He said the cadres had responded to the government’s appeal, surrendered their arms and joined the mainstream, but claimed that the assurances made under the tripartite agreement had not yet been fulfilled.
“We are ready to withdraw our blockade if we get a written assurance from the state government. If the state government remains silent on our genuine demands, we will launch an indefinite agitation across the state in support of our demands and the economic rehabilitation of the surrendered NLFT and ATTF cadres,” he told the media.
NLFT and ATTF cadres surrendered to the Tripura government and laid down their arms and ammunition before Chief Minister Manik Saha on September 24, 2024, after signing the tripartite agreement with the Centre and the state government the same day.
The agreement was signed in New Delhi in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Manik Saha.
Former NLFT leader Prasanjit Debbarma said the Central government had announced a Rs 250 crore rehabilitation package, covering economic assistance, livelihood generation, welfare measures and other initiatives aimed at ensuring a secure and sustainable future for former insurgents who had joined the democratic mainstream.
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