Tripura to rebuild royal era gate built to please then-Bengal Governor

Agartala: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Tuesday said that he had ordered the concerned department to rebuild the royal-era infrastructure widely called the ‘Jackson Gate,’ which had been demolished during the prolonged Left regime.

Historical records show that the royal family built the gate in 1927 to commemorate the visit of the then Governor of Bengal, Sir Francis Stanley Jackson.

He visited Agartala at the invitation of the royal family to witness the coronation of Maharaja Bir Bikram, the grandfather of the present royal head, Pradyot Kishore Debbarman.

People widely regard Maharaja Bir Bikram as the architect of modern Tripura for his instrumental role in laying the foundation of Agartala city, the capital of princely Tripura, as a well-planned city.

Many of his initiatives drew inspiration from architectural innovations emerging at that time.

The Left Government, under the leadership of Nripen Chakraborty, reportedly demolished the gateway.

Sources said the government razed the royal-era structure merely to widen the roads leading to the royal palace.

Critics, however, claimed that the genesis of the Left movement in Tripura relied on the principles of establishing democracy in the state, and it left no stones unturned to erase the history of the royal era.

Senior journalist Sekhar Datta said, “The CPI(M) has always described princely rule as a feudal structure that fails to satisfy the aspirations of the people, while elected governments act as a reflection of public sentiment.”

Speaking at a joining programme in Takarjala, considered a stronghold of the BJP’s ally Tipra Motha Party, CM Manik Saha said, “Previous governments worked overtime to destroy the history of the royal era. They demolished the Jackson Gate in Agartala city. I have directed officials to rebuild the Jackson Gate exactly as it looked back then.”

Saha also rejected allegations that his administration was not releasing adequate funds for the TTAADC, which the ally Tipra Motha Party governs.

He added, “The state government is allocating sufficient funds to TTAADC areas. Last fiscal year, it spent 39 percent of the state’s development budget, over Rs 6,000 crore, on TTAADC areas. This fiscal year, the government is spending around 40 percent of the budget on developing tribal areas. Additionally, all major externally aided projects are focusing primarily on tribal areas.”