The chief minister on Wednesday tweeted that Tripura has vaccinated 92 per cent of the people above 45 years with the first dose and is at the first position in India.
Tag: Tripura
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NGT sends notice to Tripura government over move to resettle displaced Brus in forest
Express News Service
GUWAHATI: The issue of the resettlement of displaced Brus in Tripura has now reached the National Green Tribunal (NGT).Based on a complaint that the refugees, who originally hail from neighbouring Mizoram, are being resettled in a forest, the NGT has directed Tripura’s Principal Secretary of Forest Department, District Magistrate of North Tripura and other officials to submit a report on the rehabilitation plan by July 14 when the matter will be heard again.
Dhanishwar Debnath had lodged a complaint with the NGT citing an e-tender floated by the Tripura government on November 4, 2020. He said the government was seeking certain constructions within a forest area in North Tripura district for the rehabilitation of the refugees.
“The further grievance of the applicant is that this area wherein the applicant and others reside is under green cover and is a good forest area comprising more than 250 Ha and it is this forest area over which the construction is sought to be made to resettle the ‘Bru’ community in violation of Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. In our opinion, the matter requires consideration,” an NGT bench of Judicial Member B Amit Sthalekar and Expert Member Saibal Dasgupta said in an order issued on June 9.
The bench allowed the complainant to implead the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Head of Forest Force.
A quadripartite agreement was signed in January last year among Bru leaders and the central, Tripura and Mizoram governments for the resettlement of some 40,000 Brus (also called Reangs) who fled Mizoram in 1997 in the face of ethnic violence. Subsequently, they were lodged in six relief camps in Tripura.
Altogether 515 of them were moved out of the camps in North Tripura district in April this year and sent to two locations in the state’s Dhalai district as a part of the permanent resettlement.
Earlier, the Tripura government had said the refugees would be resettled at 16 places in four districts. It constituted four committees to oversee resettlement.
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No decision yet on COVID lockdown in Tripura: CM Biplab Kumar Deb
By PTI
AGARTALA: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said on Saturday that no decision has been taken yet on imposing lockdown in any part of the state, even as COVID cases continued to jump.Speaking to reporters while visiting COVID care facilities in the Sepahijala district, Deb said such a decision is taken when healthcare experts and the administration collectively feel the necessity.
“There is no decision on lockdown yet,” he said, adding that all updates will be made public.
In the Sipahijala district, 200 new beds have been prepared at two COVID care facilities, and more than 1,400 beds are being prepared at two other centres.
Meanwhile, a door-to-door survey has started in three containment zones in the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) area.
The state government has decided to conduct rapid antigen tests in all houses in the AMC area, Health Department officials said.
Tripura recorded 449 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, pushing the tally to 40,055.
The number of active cases climbed to 3,781.
With three more fatalities, all in the West Tripura district, the death toll rose to 426.
Altogether 35,338 people have recovered from COVID-19 in the state so far.
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COVID patients flee Tripura facility, many may have boarded train to other states
By PTI
AGARTALA: At least 25 COVID patients escaped from a temporary care centre at Ambassa in Tripura, following which a massive search operation was launched by the police and only seven of them could be apprehended from a railway station, an official said on Wednesday.All the patients, who fled the COVID care centre at Panchayat Raj Training Institute (PRTI) on Monday night, are migrant workers who came from other states, sad Himadri Sarkar, the officer-in-charge of the Ambassa police station.
“We have informed all the police stations about the incident and alerted the railway authorities since they came here from other states. We have initiated a search operation to trace them,” he said.
Seven of those who escaped were apprehended from the Ambassa railway station, police said.
After a preliminary investigation, police said they suspect that 18 patients might have boarded a train and left the state.
On April 22, 31 COVID patients escaped from a COVID centre in the Arundhatinagar area of Agartala.
They had come from other states to appear for an interview for recruitment in Tripura State Rifles (TSR).
They are yet to be traced, officials said.
From April 24, the Tripura government has made it mandatory for people coming to the state to carry a COVID- negative report.
Otherwise, they will have to undergo a rapid antigen test.
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No need to panic, Tripura has enough oxygen stock: CM Biplab Kumar Deb
By PTI
AGARTALA: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Saturday said the state has adequate stock of oxygen for treatment of COVID-19 patients and urged people not to panic amid the raging coronavirus pandemic.The state has a stock of 4,000 oxygen cylinders and 750 concentrators, he said.
“We have adequate stock of oxygen and people of the state should not be worried about the availability of the life-saving gas.
The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in Tripura is at 92 per cent, which is better than several other states,” Deb said.
The health department has taken a slew of steps to make sure sufficient supply of oxygen to all the districts and sub-divisional hospitals, the CM said.
He visited an oxygen plant at Bodhjungnagar here and took stock of the supply situation from the facility.
Deb said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured all help to the state in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The chief minister stated that his government has taken measures to speed up the vaccination drive and appealed to people above 45 years of age to get inoculated immediately.
“Tripura is one of the first two states in the country to have the highest vaccination rate.
We will soon start the immunisation drive for people in the age group of 18 to 44 years and have placed orders to procure vaccines for the purpose,” he said.
Around 14 lakh people have been inoculated in the state so far, a health department official said.
Senior minister and cabinet spokesperson Ratan Lal Nath said the government has decided to appoint 164 doctors through Tripura Public Service Commission on a contractual basis to strengthen human resource in hospitals across the state.
As many as 148 posts of doctors are vacant in state- run medical facilities, he said.
At least 359 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Tripura on Saturday, pushing the tally in the state to 37,208, the official said.
The death toll rose to 402 as two more patients succumbed to the infection.
Tripura currently has 2,174 active cases, while 34,212 people have recovered from the disease.
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Tripura District Magistrate removed after wedding hall ruckus, court demands video footage
By Express News Service
GUWAHATI: The Tripura government on Monday removed Tripura West District Magistrate Shailesh Kumar Yadav from all his posts pending an enquiry against him or until further orders. Yadav had raided a wedding hall in the state capital Agartala on the night of April 26, manhandling and driving out those gathered there, triggering widespread criticism.The decision was made a day after he had written to Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar requesting to be relieved from the post till the completion of the probe. It was ordered by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.
Yadav was also holding the posts of Chief Executive Officer and Mission Director of Agartala Smart City Limited and Tripura Jal Board and Commissioner of Tripura Urban Development Authority.
Tripura Education and Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath said the government removed the DM respecting his wishes.
After a petition was filed by an Agartala-based advocate, the Tripura High Court on Monday served a notice to the state government ordering it to submit video footage, necessary evidence and other documents in connection with the incident.
That night, Yadav, who was accompanied by a group of policemen, had raided the wedding hall, beat up the elderly priest and shoved the groom before asking the cops to arrest the people there. Thirty-one people were taken into custody by the police before they were released after about two hours.
When a woman protested saying that permission was obtained for the marriage at the hall, the DM had said permission was not granted for marriages beyond 10 pm during the COVID-induced night curfew.
Yadav had earlier apologised for the incident. He stated that he had taken the action considering the spike in COVID-19 cases.
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Resettlement of displaced Bru tribals begins in Tripura
By Express News Service
GUWAHATI: In all, 515 displaced Brus were moved out of their camps in the North Tripura district and sent to two locations in Dhalai district in the state on Monday as a part of the permanent resettlement of the refugees.A quadripartite agreement was signed among the Bru leaders and Central, Tripura, and Mizoram governments in January last year for the resettlement of some 35,000 Brus from Mizoram.
The refugees will be resettled at 16 places in four districts. Earlier, the Tripura government had constituted four committees to oversee resettlement.
The refugees have been lodged in six camps in Kanchanpur of North Tripura district since 1997 after they had fled Mizoram in the wake of ethnic tensions.
Official sources said the first batch of refugees was being resettled under Ambassa and Longtharai Valley sub-divisions in the Dhalai district.
“They are being transported to the new places. For the time being, they will stay in makeshift houses in Ambassa and Longtharai Valley sub-divisions,” official sources said.
They said water, electricity, and other basic amenities were being arranged by the government.
As per the quadripartite pact, the Centre will bear the expenditure of the refugees’ resettlement. Each refugee family will get a plot of land, a fixed deposit of Rs 4 lakh, a free ration, and a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000 for two years. Also, the families will be provided Rs 1.5 lakh each so they can build a house.
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Tripura man gets 12-year jail for cheating, raping woman
By PTI
AGARTALA: A 32-year old man was awarded 12-year prison term and fined Rs 60,000 by a local court here for cheating and raping a woman on the pretext of marriage.Additional District and Session Judge Dhiman Debbarma ordered authorities concerned to fix deposit the penalty — to be paid as compensation to the woman — in a nationalized bank for a period of five years.
The judge also asked the district legal service authorities to give Rs 3-4 lakh to the woman as legal aid.
According to additional public prosecutor Arobindo Deb, the 32-year-old, a resident of Amtali here, had engaged in a physical relationship with the woman in 2013, but refused to marry her when she got pregnant.
The woman filed a complaint with the Amtali police station here, following which an investigation was carried out into the matter, and a chargesheet filed in June 2015.
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Tripura government approves proposal to provide free sanitary napkins to schoolgirls
By ANI
AGARTALA: Tripura Education Minister Ratanlal Nath on Wednesday announced that the state government has approved a proposal to provide free sanitary napkins to all girls from class sixth to twelfth.“To enhance female menstrual hygiene, the Tripura Cabinet on Wednesday gave approval for providing free sanitary napkins among all school girls from class sixth to twelfth,” Nath said while addressing a press conference in the secretariat.
A total of 1,68,252 students shall be covered under this new scheme called ‘Kishori Suchita Abhiyan’. This will involve an investment of Rs 3,61,63,248 from the state’s exchequer during a period of three years.
“The state education department has also adopted the ‘Policy On School Bag 2020’ in accordance with the guideline of the Department of School Education and Literacy of Education Ministry,” the minister added.
He informed that the COVID-situation in the state is fast improving and at present only five patients are under treatment at the Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital. However, 32 people are under home isolation.
Nath added that the positivity rate on Tuesday had come down to 0.12 per cent and there has been no report of deaths due to COVID-19 in the state during the last four days. He further said that till date, 4269 healthcare workers have been vaccinated and there is no report of any side effect.
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PM Narendra Modi greets people on statehood days of Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya
By PTI
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday greeted the people of Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya on their statehood days and offered his best wishes to them.“Statehood day greetings to the people of Manipur, India is proud of its contribution to national development,” he tweeted, adding that the state is a powerhouse of innovation and sporting talent.
Modi wished the state the very best in its journey towards progress.
“Best wishes to the people of Tripura on the special occasion of their Statehood Day. The culture and warm-hearted nature of the people of Tripura is admired across India. The state has achieved outstanding progress in various fields. May the same spirit continue,” he said in another tweet.
Extending his greetings to people of Meghalaya, the prime minister said the state is known for its remarkable kindness and spirit of brotherhood.
“Youngsters from Meghalaya are creative and enterprising. May the state keep scaling new heights of progress in the times to come,” he added.