IPFT calls for indefinite agitation in Tripura for separate state, security beefed up

Agartala: Security was beefed up in Tripura in view of the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) call for an indefinite blockade of the national highway number eight from Monday, to demand for a separate state, police said on Sunday. “Security was enhanced on the national highway and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) was engaged in patrolling to ensure peace and calm so that no untoward incident can take place during the proposed agitation,” SP, police control, Dilip Roy told reporters. [caption id=“attachment_217999” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] National highway eight runs from Karimganj in Assam to Khayerpur in Tripura. The IPFT has demanded that a separate state be carved out for the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) areas, which constitutes two third of the state territory and is the home to the tribals, who form one third of the population. The state government in a press statement had on Saturday appealed to the IPFT to withdraw the agitation as the people would suffer due to the blockade on the national highway. The ruling CPI-M has opposed the blockade call and said the demand for separate state is “divisive and aimed at disrupting communal harmony and peace in the state”. BJP Tripura unit president Biplab Deb told reporters that “the demand for separate state is improbable and it is not physically possible. The BJP opposes the demand”.