India to take up insurgency issue with Bangladesh

Agartala, Nov 17: The Union government will hold talks with Bangladesh to help combat insurgency in Tripura as well as the entire North Eastern region.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon informed him yesterday in New Delhi that the Foreign Ministry will hold talks with the Bangladesh government seeking its cooperation in combating banned militants in this border-most state besides, the NE region.

Mr Sarkar was speaking on the second day of the two-day 53rd meeting of the North Eastern Council(NEC). He raised various problems facing the state, including insurgency.

''The Foreign Secretary assured me that the Foreign Ministry will try its best to solve the problems,'' the chief minister was quoted by official sources.

Mr Sarkar also informed the Foreign Secretary that there were 26 base camps in Bangladesh of banned outfits of the state.

He invited Mr Menon to visit the state to make an on the spot study of the situation. Mr Menon accepted the invitation and said he would visit Tripura shortly, the sources said.

Mr Menon raised various issues, including the present situation, the potentiality of increasing trade and business and improvement in communication in the region at the meeting where Governors and Chief Ministers of the entire N E region were present.

UNI