‘Amra Bangali’, on Tuesday,demanded adequate security for the farmers engaged in farming in India-Bangladesh border especially for those whose croplands fall on the other side of the barbed wire fencing. The Amra Bangali party wrote a letter to Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and the DM West on Tuesday demanding insurance for the crops as well.
In the letter addressed to the Chief Minister and the DM West on Tuesday, the ‘Amra Bangali’ expressed concern over the inadequate security arrangements along the bordering areas. They also mentioned their six-point charter of demands in the letter.
A delegation of Amra Bengali led by its state secretary Gouranga Rudra Pal submitted the letter to the DM West.
Speaking about the demands, Pal told media, “We have raised 6-point demand pertaining to security farmers of bordering areas. We demanded to ensure that the farmers of the State can cultivate their lands which are on the other side of the fencing. Also, we demanded tight vigil by the border guards so that the miscreants of the neighbouring country cannot illegally harvest the crops produced by the Tripura farmers”.
He continued and said, “Besides, our demand included providing fair prices to the farmers for their crops, bringing the agricultural land of the farmers along the bordering area or inside the fencing under the agricultural insurance scheme, to provide financial assistance of Rs. 8,000 per month till December next for the families along the bordering areas affected due to the lockdown period”.
Rudra Pal opined that due to inadequate security arrangements, the farmers residing along the bordering areas of the state are in trouble as the miscreants from the other side often destroy their cultivation in the lands which are situated on the other side of the fencing. In addition to this, the farmers are also facing non-cooperation and obstruction by the border guards when they want to go to their fields lying on the other side of the border fencing, he said.
Meanwhile, he also alleged that the free movement of extremists along the unfenced bordering areas is a major concern. The issue had been discussed with the border and police authorities many times but situation did not improve, he said.