Rains end I-Day event in 10 minutes

Heavy rains Thursday ended the Independence Day celebrations in Tripura in just 10 minutes, with Chief Minister Manik Sarkar finishing his speech in a record two minutes.

The Agartala programme was scheduled to last two-and-a-half hours.

Once the rains began, authorities were forced to cancel most of the programme. Sarkar quickly ended his speech after unfurling the national flag at the Assam Rifles ground.

Even in his brief speech, Sarkar, a leader of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, attacked the central government.

"The country is passing through a serious crisis. The wrong economic and other policies of the central government have distressed the people," he said.