Bru tribe members to be repatriated: Govt

NEW DELHI: Close to 33,000 people belonging to the Bru community will be repatriated from Tripura to Mizoram after more than two decades following an agreement between the two states, the Centre and the Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF), the ministry of home affairs (MHA) said on Tuesday.

Bru, also known as Reang, were displaced from Mizoram following ethnic riots with the Mizos in 1997 and were given shelter in makeshift camps in Tripura.

The resettlement of the community had been a long pending issue and the agreement, according to officials, was a major breakthrough.

The pact for Bru community members’ repatriation was signed in the presence of home minister Rajnath Singh, Mizoram CM Lal Thanhawla, and his Tripura counterpart Biplab Kumar Deb, MHA said.

“5,407 families comprising of 32,876 persons presently in temporary camps in Tripura will repatriate to Mizoram before 30th Sept, 2018. Government of India will provide financial assistance for rehabilitation of Brus in Mizoram and address their issues of security, education and livelihood in consultation with Governments of Mizoram and Tripura,” said the ministry

“A Committee under Special Secretary (Internal Security) will coordinate the implementation of this agreement,” it added.