Tripura: Bru migrants demand permanent resident certificates

Almost ten months since the Centre’s approval to permanent resettlement of Bru migrants in Tripura, the latter have demanded permanent resident and Scheduled Tribe certificates from the state government.

In a letter to chief secretary Manoj Kumar on November 10, Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples’ Forum (MBDPF) general secretary Bruno Msha has demanded issuance of both the certificates as part of their resettlement.

“..I , therefore request you and to instruct the concerned authority ( DM, North Tripura District and SDM Kanchanpur Sub-Division & Panisagar SubDivision, North Tripura District) with immediate effect to issue us the Scheduled Tribe (ST) Certificate and Permanent Resident of Tripura Certificate ( PRTC) during the ongoing process of resettlement,” Msha wrote.

No government official reaction is available on the issue.

Over 32,000 Bru migrants have been staying at six relief camps located at Kanchanpur and Panisagar sub divisions in North District for over two decades after escaping an ethnic clash in Mizoram in 1997.

In January this year, the Centre signed an agreement with governments of Tripura and Mizoram and the Bru migrants for their permanent settlement in Tripura. The Centre also announced a ₹600 crore package for their resettlement.

The letter came after a series of protests by some local organisations against the resettlement. Bru migrants have also written to Union home minister Amit Shah about the protests against their resettlement in Tripura.