Joint Director of the Tribal Welfare Department, Saswata Sen, urged the protesting students to remain calm amid growing anger over the pro...
Agartala, Jan 09. Around 60–70 B.Ed students from five to six institutions on Thursday locked the Tribal Welfare Department (TWD) office at Gurkabasti, protesting a year-long delay in scholarship disbursement despite submitting applications in 2024.
The students, currently in their third semester, said their academic future is at stake as they are unable to pay fees for further studies due to non-receipt of scholarships.
According to the protesters, they visited the department five to six times and met officials, including Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma, but repeated assurances failed to yield any outcome. Frustrated by the delay, the students raised slogans demanding immediate release of their dues and warned of a larger agitation if the issue remains unresolved.
The students also alleged harassment and rude behaviour by TWD officials, particularly Joint Director Saswata Sen. They accused him of refusing to hear their grievances, intimidating them, and threatening legal action if they protested. Several students claimed they spent over ₹5,000 each on travel and documentation to pursue their cases.
A student from Vidya Sagar Teacher Training Institute alleged that during an official visit to their college, officials behaved arrogantly and blamed students for various issues due to the absence of the principal.
Other students alleged discrimination, claiming that Tiprasa students—especially those pursuing B.Ed courses in Kolkata—face recurring scholarship issues every year, despite verification being completed at institute, district, and state levels, and funds being sanctioned by the Centre.
Some students further alleged that genuine documents, including income certificates, were wrongly labelled “fake” despite receiving verification messages. A few accused officials of misappropriating funds, alleging that “technical issues” were being cited repeatedly without proper clarification.
Responding to the allegations, Joint Director Saswata Sen told the media that over 33,000 students had already received scholarships. He said discrepancies were found in certain applications, including multiple institute entries and incorrect year selection, and that letters had been sent to the concerned institutions.
Sen added that the matter would be reviewed by higher authorities, including the Minister, Secretary, and Director, to determine the next course of action.
