By Firstdespatch Desk Aug 28, 2023
Agartala, Aug 28 (FD) A dawn-to-dusk statewide shutdown organized by Twipra Students’ Federation (TSF), linked to North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), received varied reactions. Vehicular flow hindered in certain areas, including the capital.
The bandh was called by the student body to press for introduction of Roman script in Kokbarak language, the lingua franca of the tribals in the state, who constitute one third of the state’s population.
Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP), Jyotshiman Das Choudhury said traffic movements were collapsed in four places of the capital city and many agitators were arrested in this connection, but later freed.
Incidents of injury were reported.
The police official said, movement of long distance buses were stopped for long time as the agitators also blocked the NH4 (National highway) towards South and North Tripura districts, but police and paramilitary forces managed to lift the blockades.
However, there was no impact of the bandh as the shops and markets remained open and attendances in government offices, banks and financial institutions remained normal. The schools and colleges functioned as usual.
Movements of rails were normal and the long distance trains shuttled as usual.
“The railway line was clear and no untoward incident was reported from near the rail lines”, railway officials said.
A section of the tribals, mainly from young generations had long been demanding roman script in Kokborok language instead of Bengali and several commissions were set up by the erstwhile Left Front government, but no solutions were available.
Prominent TSF leader, John Debbarma said “We had for long demanded Roman script in our language, but successive state government been reluctant to concede our demand. We were forced to call a bandh”.
Bikash Debbarma, a prominent tribal intellectual said, “We will decide what could be script for our language, not the state government. Government should immediately introduce the Roman script”.
NSUI, the student wing of the opposition Congress has supported the bandh.
State NSUI president, Samrat Roy and TIPRA Motha Supremo Pardyot Kishore Debbarman also spoke in support of the strike.
TSF leader John Debbarma said they had been compelled to take the drastic step as the demand for the Roman script has been neglected by the ruling dispensations of Tripura time and again. FD JK