Tripura Assembly Watch: Sparks fly on 2nd day of Winter Session over hooliganism, other issues

HIV, AIDS

Chief Minister Manik Saha, who also holds the home and health portfolios, said in his reply to a calling attention notice moved by CPI(M) MLAs – Nirmal Biswas and Nayan Sarkar – that Tripura saw 1.12 AIDS-related deaths out of every one lakh unaffected people in 2021 – a figure that came down to 0.99 in 2022 but again rose to 1.08 in 2023.

The chief minister also said that 512 AIDS-related deaths were recorded in Tripura from 2015-16 till 2023-24. These include 66 deaths in 2015-16, 65 in 2016-17, 66 in 2017-18, 76 in 2018-19, 44 in 2019-20, 69 in 2020-21, 74 in 2021-22, and 52 in 2023-24.

He also cited National AIDS Control Organization (Naco) data to claim that Tripura had 7,707 AIDS patients in 2021 – a figure which rose to 8,943 in 2022 and further shot up to 10,126 in 2023.

CM Saha had last year claimed Tripura was witnessing 150-200 new cases of HIV every month primarily owing to the use of infected syringes by a section of drug addicts.

‘Nasha Mukt Tripura’

In the calling attention notice, Opposition legislators sought information about steps taken by the state government to achieve the target of ‘Nasha Mukt Tripura’ – an anti-drug initiative started by the incumbent BJP-led government.

In response, the CM said 1,665 cases were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in the state in the last three years (2022-24), and 2,697 people were arrested in connection to those cases. Among these, 470 cases were registered and 886 people were arrested last year.

Drugs, vehicles, and other properties seized during anti-drug raids in the last three years were estimated to be worth Rs 1,587.47 crore.

Meanwhile, the chief minister said the government was also conducting awareness programs in all eight districts highlighting the risk of drug addiction.

Mafia menace

In response to a notice moved by Opposition MLAs Sudip Sarkar and Ramu Das regarding reports of hooligans preventing a shop owner from accessing his newly purchased shop in Agartala city, CM Saha said the police tried to assist the owner after he sought help but found the latter had himself pried open a lock put on his shop by the hooligans by the time the police reached the spot.

While the issue is local in nature, it assumes importance since the area, Shantipara, houses the ancestral residence of Chief Minister Saha.

Saha said his government was clamping down on all sorts of hooliganism.

“What was done in 35 years (before the BJP came to power)?… It is difficult to erase this (hooliganism) culture. It will take time. What did you do all along?” – a visibly upset chief minister was seen telling Congress and CPI(M) legislators, even as the latter accused the government of not taking adequate steps to rein in hooliganism.

Question Hour

During the Question Hour, discussions spanned 61 admitted questions with a host of supplementary queries including those on curbing road accidents, expanding the National Highway network, developing intra-state roads, and sports infrastructure, among others.

Illegal encroachment

In response to a question moved by MLA Ranjit Debbarma, the government clarified that while it has given powers to district magistrates to take strict action against illegal encroachers of government land under the Tripura Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, the state government doesn’t have any plans to evict anyone illegally occupying government land in Agartala city. According to revenue department estimates, the CM said, 31.47 acres of government land has been illegally occupied by encroachers in Agartala city.

Meanwhile, the CM said in response to a separate query that 10,856 families are currently listed as landless in the state, with the North Tripura district having the highest number of landless families and the Dhalai district the lowest.

Policing

In response to a question moved by MLA Nirmal Biswas, the chief minister said 33 police outposts are currently operational in the state. He also said 7,323 posts are lying vacant in the police department. However, CM Saha could not specify when these positions would be filled.

Bangladeshi nationals

Responding to a question moved by Opposition leader Jitendra Chaudhury, among others, the chief minister said 2,815 Bangladeshi nationals were arrested for illegally crossing the Indo-Bangla border into Tripura from January 1, 2022, to October 31, 2024. Among the detainees, 1,746 have been pushed back into their country and 1,069 others are housed in jail custody, temporary detention centres, and shelter homes or are out on bail.