By Bureau Correspondent | Tripura 24.in
AGARTALA | May 30, 2026
AGARTALA: Raising the stakes in their long-standing battle for rehabilitation, the Tripura Guerrilla Returned Demand Committee has officially announced an indefinite blockade of the vital Assam-Tripura National Highway (NH-8) and railway tracks starting June 5, 2026.
The group’s leadership announced the decisive step during a formal press conference hosted on Sunday at the Kumari Madhuti Rupasree Abasan complex in Agartala.
The committee revealed that they had previously planned to launch a similar mass agitation on February 20, 2026. However, they temporarily suspended the movement after receiving explicit personal assurances from Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma, who promised that the state government would look into and resolve their core grievances. The leaders alleged that because the minister has completely failed to honor his commitments over the last few months, they have been forced to return to the path of aggressive agitation.
A Chronic Struggle for Rehabilitation and Land Rights
The Tripura Guerrilla Returned Demand Committee, which represents former indigenous insurgents who laid down their arms under various historic peace accords, has been fighting for decades to secure the baseline rehabilitation packages promised to them during their surrender.
The Core 5-Point Charter of Demands Includes:
- Comprehensive Rehabilitation Packages: Immediate disbursement of the pending one-time ex-gratia financial assistance and monthly stipends for all returnee guerrillas.
- Government Employment Allocation: Providing secure government jobs or viable, long-term self-employment direct subsidies to the returnees and their immediate family dependents.
- Allotment of Land: Expediting the legal allocation of agricultural and residential land patches under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) or special tribal welfare quotas.
- Withdrawal of Pending Cases: Dropping all lingering political and operational criminal cases registered against the former cadres during the insurgency era.
- Housing Under PMAY: Ensuring automatic inclusion of all verified returnees under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) for concrete housing construction.
“We Were Betrayed by Empty Ministerial Assurances”: Committee Leadership
Addressing the media pool, the executive members of the committee expressed deep anger over the state administration’s casual approach toward peace-accord execution.
”We returned to the mainstream trusting the word of the government, but for decades, we have been treated like forgotten citizens. On February 20 of this year, when we were fully prepared to freeze the state’s transport lines, Honorable Minister Bikash Debbarma stepped in and begged us for time, giving his solemn word that our 5-point demands would be fulfilled. We respected his position and suspended our stir.
But look at what has happened since—months have passed, and not a single file has moved. This is a direct betrayal of our patience. We are issuing a final notice today: from June 5, we will completely choke the Assam-Tripura National Highway and freeze all incoming and outgoing train movements indefinitely. We will not clear the tracks for temporary meetings this time. We will stay put until concrete administrative orders are signed and delivered to us,” a senior leader of the Tripura Guerrilla Returned Demand Committee announced to reporters.
With the June 5 deadline threatening to completely sever Tripura’s land and rail connectivity with the rest of the country, state intelligence wings and senior police officials have rushed reports to the Home Department to initiate emergency counter-measures and pre-empt a logistical crisis.
