Agartala, July 29, 2025: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today virtually laid the foundation stones for six new hostels for tribal students in Tripura. These hostels will be built under the PM-JANMAN (Prime Minister’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups Development Mission) and the Dharti Aba Janbhagidari Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan schemes, aimed at enhancing educational access and infrastructure for Indigenous communities.
The hostels will be constructed in Bagafa and Jolaibari blocks. In Bagafa, the facilities will come up at Govindabari Higher Secondary School, Naraifang Higher Secondary School (separate hostels for boys and girls), and Binoy Prasad Para Higher Secondary School. In Jolaibari block, separate hostels will be built for boys and girls at Krishnarampur Higher Secondary School. Each hostel is estimated to cost around ₹2.3 crore.
The central foundation stone-laying event was held at the kowaifung Community Hall. Tripura’s Co-operation Minister Shuklacharan Noatia attended the programme as chief guest. In his address, he emphasized that no society can progress without the expansion of education and highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to uplift tribal communities through education. He added that 27 hostels will be constructed across the state under the PM-JANMAN scheme and that the number of Eklavya Model Residential Schools in Tripura has been increased to 21.
Among those who addressed the event were Ashok Mog, Chairman of the Jolaibari Block Advisory Committee (BAC); South Tripura District Magistrate Mohammad Sajjadh P; District Education Officer Dilip Debbarma; and Tapas Dutta, Chairman of the Jolaibari Panchayat Samiti.
Foundation stone-laying events at other locations were attended by several public representatives, including MLAs Promod Reang and Mailafru Mog; Chairperson of the South Tripura Zilla Parishad, Deepak Dutta; Chairperson of the Santirbazar Municipal Council, Swapna Baidya; and Chairperson of the Bagafa Panchayat Samiti, Krishna Reang.
In a parallel development in Mohanpur, Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also virtually laid the foundation stone for a 50-bed hostel at Radhanagar High School in East Tamakari ADC Village under Hezamara block. The project will cost ₹2.8 crore. To mark the occasion, a ceremony was held at the school campus, where Executive Member (Education) of TTAADC, Rabindra Debbarma, delivered the keynote address. He spoke about the government and ADC’s joint initiatives for the upliftment of educational infrastructure.
Others present at the event included West Tripura Zilla Parishad’s acting chairperson, Biswajit Shil; Chairman of Hezamara BAC, Sunil Debbarma; Vice-Chairman Nihar Ranjan Debbarma; Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Mohanpur, Subhash Dutta; and Hezamara BDO, Manas Murasing.
These developments mark a major step toward inclusive education and holistic development of tribal students in the state.
