Newmai News Network
Aizawl | July 16
A total of 325 Bru families have been identified so far as on July 15 for repatriation in the ongoing Bru identification process at six relief camps in North Tripura district, official sources said on Tuesday. The second phase of Bru identification began in July 3.
Sources from Mamit district deputy commissioner office (Bru cell) said that a total of 1575 people belonging to 325 families, including new 45 families, who were not included in the 2016 identification, have been identified as on Monday. Of the 325 families, 242 hail from Mamit district, 53 families from Kolasib and 30 to Lunglei district, the sources said.
The meeting of Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) on Bru Repatriation held in New Delhi on June 30 had decided to conduct the final phase of Bru repatriation starting from September. The proposed repatriation is scheduled to be completed by October after which the Centre will close down all the six relief camps in Tripura and stop dolling out rations to the refugees.
Before the Lok Sabha polls in April, the state government of Mizoram and major civil society organizations had reached an agreement to conduct the final phase of Bru repatriation within this year.
Meanwhile, Mizoram Home secretary Lalbiakzama said that the state government has a reserved fund of Rs 620 crore for the proposed Bru repatriation, and additional fund may require depending on the number of the families to be repatriated.
According to the road map of Bru repatriation, over 4,100 families will be repatriated in Mamit district, 822 families in Kolasib district and 371 families in Lunglei district.
Thousands of Bru people fled Mizoram and migrated to Tripura following ethnic tension triggered by the murder of a Mizo forest guard by Bru militants in 1997.
Several attempts by the Centre, the Mizoram government and the Tripura government, to repatriate them since 2009 went futile as the refugees did not accept the repatriation packages.
