Tripura CM opens 27 projects worth Rs 69 crore in South Tripura

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday inaugurated or laid foundation stones for 27 development projects in South Tripura district, together worth about Rs 69.11 crore, at an event at the Sachin Debbarman Auditorium in Belonia.

Of these, 23 completed projects costing about Rs 56.82 crore were inaugurated virtually, while work will begin on four new projects estimated at Rs 12.29 crore, according to reports by IANS and ENewsTime.

What was opened

The completed works include three flood-control embankments in the Balarmukh area of North Belonia and in Sukantanagar, and several drinking water schemes under lift irrigation projects that will give tap connections to 6,692 families in Belonia town.

The South Tripura District Judo Centre in Belonia has been named after Commonwealth Games gold medallist Asmita Debnath, which Saha said he hoped would inspire young athletes in the district. He also unveiled a marble statue of Syama Prasad Mookerjee at BKI Mor and handed bank loan cheques to four women-led self-help groups.

Medical college for Ambassa

Saha announced that a new medical college will be set up at Ambassa, the headquarters of Dhalai district, and said new district hospitals are planned for Khowai and Sepahijala. He said kidney transplant services are now available within the state and that fewer patients are travelling outside Tripura for treatment.

He also pointed to subsidised arrangements for patients' families at Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC) hospital, where meals cost Rs 10 and a bed for the night Rs 30, and to cover of up to Rs 5 lakh under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and the Chief Minister's Jan Arogya Yojana.

Jobs, industry and tourism

Under the Chief Minister's youth scheme, which offers advanced coaching for competitive government job examinations, 180 young people from South Tripura have cleared exams so far, Saha said.

On industry, he cited the new tea auction centre in Agartala and said investors from outside the state were signing agreements for projects in Tripura. He also claimed the state's GDP had doubled, a figure the reports did not elaborate on.

Tourism projects he listed include a replica of the 51 Shakti Peethas under construction at Banduar in Udaipur, development work at Dumboor Lake and Chabimura, and a five-star hotel at Pushpabanta Palace in Agartala. He said electrification of the Sabroom-Badarpur rail line and highway upgrades would improve connectivity.

Why it matters

Belonia, a border subdivision on the Muhuri river, has long faced seasonal flooding and drinking water shortages, so the embankments and water connections are among the more tangible items on the list. The announcements come weeks before Tripura's urban local body elections on November 27.

State Cooperation Minister Shukla Charan Noatia was among those present at the programme.