Agartala, Oct 23: Normal life was affected in Tripura on Thursday after the ruling BJP’s ally, the Tipra Motha Party (TMP)-affiliated civil society, called a 24-hour shutdown in support of its eight-point demands, including the deportation of illegal migrants.

A senior police official said that to make the shutdown successful, picketers organised sit-in demonstrations at more than 52 key locations across the state and in two places along the railway tracks in West Tripura and Khowai districts.

“There is no report of any untoward incident from anywhere in the state. The situation is quite under the control of the police and administration,” the official said, adding that large contingents of security forces, including the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), were deployed across the state.

Though attendance of employees and officers in most government offices and banks across Tripura was almost normal, private offices, shops, markets, and business establishments in many places remained closed. Movement of public vehicles on most highways, including National Highway-8, the surface lifeline of Tripura, came to a halt as bandh supporters blockaded roads at several points.

The Tiprasa Civil Society (TCS), led by TMP MLA Ranjit Debbarma, called the 24-hour shutdown on Thursday to highlight its eight-point charter of demands.

The demands include the immediate implementation of the Tiprasa Accord, identification and deportation of all illegal immigrants, setting up of detention camps in each district for illegal immigrants, holding of elections to the Village Committees under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), and introduction of the Inner Line Permit system to prevent infiltration.

Debbarma, who is also a senior TMP leader, said that several BJP-ruled states, including Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Delhi, have taken steps against illegal migrants, but the Tripura government has yet to act despite directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

“The BJP government holds elections in all urban and rural bodies, but is not holding the elections to the Village Committees under the TTAADC,” the tribal leader told the media.

The Tripura government had earlier issued a notification announcing that all its offices would remain open on Thursday. “It has come to the government’s notice that some organisations have called a statewide bandh on October 23. Keeping this in view, government offices and public sector undertakings will remain open on October 23. The government workforce will work as usual,” the notification said.

While opposing the shutdown, Chief Minister Manik Saha on Wednesday said that development cannot be stalled by observing strikes in the state. Without naming anyone or any party, he said that although an NGO has called the bandh, people know who is behind it.

“Many NGOs have also opposed the strike,” he added. “The bandh call is aimed at drawing media attention and sending a message across the country that something is happening in Tripura, but development cannot be stalled this way,” Saha told the media.

CPI(M) Tripura state secretary and Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury, also opposing the shutdown, said that the demands on which the strike was called were not related to the common people.

After year-long deliberations and the signing of a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the Tripura government on March 2 last year, the then opposition and tribal-based TMP, which has 13 MLAs, joined the BJP-led coalition government in the state on March 7, 2024, adding a new dimension to Tripura’s political landscape. Two TMP MLAs, Animesh Debbarma and Brishaketu Debbarma, were inducted into the ministry headed by Chief Minister Manik Saha.

The TMP, led by Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, had also organised a demonstration in Delhi on September 9 to press for its demands.

The party has also been demanding “Greater Tipraland”, a separate state for tribals under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution — and the early conduct of the long-pending Village Committee elections within the TTAADC areas. Since 2021, the TMP has been governing the 30-member politically significant TTAADC, which covers two-thirds of Tripura’s 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12.16 lakh people, about 84 per cent of whom are tribals.

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 23: Kerala Excise Minister M. B. Rajesh on Thursday called for a significant increase in local liquor production, highlighting the potential to not only meet domestic demand but also explore export opportunities.

The minister, however, acknowledged that local opposition may arise but stressed that such concerns should not impede progress.

Despite the presence of nine distilleries in the state, no liquor is being produced by them, he noted.

“The state has the capacity to produce its own liquor, yet some vested interests are actively opposing local production,” he said.

Concerns over water availability have also been cited, but Rajesh questioned their validity, pointing out that Kerala’s water situation is not markedly different from neighbouring Karnataka.

He emphasised that the government will not bow to vested interests and indicated that some controversial measures might be necessary to move forward.

On the policy front, Rajesh advocated for a five-year liquor policy, noting that the current system of annual policy formulation has created uncertainty for the industry.

“The absence of a long-term liquor policy discourages investors and industrialists from setting up operations in Kerala,” he contended.

The minister added that the unpredictability over whether the policy would change in the following year has been a major concern for manufacturers.

He further highlighted that a long-term policy would provide stability and predictability, encouraging both domestic production and potential exports.

Discussions on formulating such a policy are reportedly underway, signalling the government’s intent to create a more investor-friendly environment for the liquor industry.

According to government data presented in 2023, Kerala’s consumption is actually lower than some other states, at 12.4 per cent compared to the national average.

Minister Rajesh’s statements underscore a shift in Kerala’s approach to liquor production, balancing industrial growth with regulatory oversight while confronting entrenched opposition.

With both policy and production reforms on the horizon, the state aims to transform its liquor sector into a sustainable and economically beneficial industry.

Mumbai: Several people are stranded in a commercial high-rise in Jogeshwari West, and firefighters are carrying out rescue operations. Twenty-four trapped people have been rescued from various floors through the staircase. A massive fire erupted at the JNS Business Center, located on SV Road near Gandhi School. According to the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), the blaze is confined to the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th floors, with flames shooting out of the ground and upper floors of the 13-storey glass-facade commercial building.

The incident was reported to the MFB at 10.51 am and a level III (major) fire call was given at 10.54 am. “The rescue operation for the trapped people is carried out by firemen donning breathing apparatus (BA) sets, along with ventilation operations,” MFB said. More details are awaited on the rescue operations. So far no injuries are reported.

A total of nine fire engines, quick response team, fire tender, two turn table ladders, an ambulance are other disaster management vehicles are deployed on the spot. Along with the Chief Fire Officer of the MFB, two deputy fire officers, four additional fire officers two seniors and 10 station officers are deployed on the spot.

This is the second fire in an high-rise in Mumbai on the second consecutive day. On Wednesday morning, a fire broke out in a seven-storey building in Malad West, leaving one resident and a fire official injured. The blaze was brought under control after two hours of intense firefighting operations.

The blaze erupted around 5 am. in a closed flat (Flat No. 602) on the sixth floor and quickly spread to four flats — 701, 702, 703, and 704 — on the seventh floor. The MFB, with assistance from the Mumbai Police and the local ward office, managed to bring the fire under control.

As per the information received from the BMC’s Disaster Management Cell, 24-year-old resident, Shubham Agotaria, sustained a cut injury to his left hand. He was treated at Lifeline Hospital in Malad West and discharged after treatment. A senior station officer from the fire brigade also sustained an internal injury to his left leg and was referred to Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari East. Prima facie, an electrical short circuit was suspected to be the cause of the fire.