ProMASS News
Agartala, November 03, 2019: Displaced Bru people – the Reang refugees camped in several relief camps in North Tripura continued their road blockade agitation in Kanchanpur sub-division under North Tripura for fourth consecutive day. The agitators are demanding resumption of food and relief supplies which were stopped on September 30 last.
Meanwhile, four Reang refugees including two kids died in last couple of days. While Bru leaders claimed that four persons including two kids died due to stark food crisis in relief camps – local administration is yet to ascertain reasons behind death.
Bru leader Bruno Msha said that the prime reason behind the blockade was the suspension of ration supplies in relief camps even as repatriation Bru to Mizoram was undergoing. The repatriation process started from October 3 last and will continue till November 30 next.
In view of severe food crisis, several NGOs are coming up with food items. On the fourth day, NGOs distributed 25 Quintals rice, vegetables, lentils, salt etc. However, the assistance was too meager considering thousands of hungry mouths and empty stomachs, said one of the agitators.
Meanwhile four socio-cultural organizations of Indigenous communities – Jamatia Hoda, Tripura Juglai Butho, Bru-socio cultural organization and Tripura Khatriya Samaj today extended support to the Bru-refugees who were staging road blockade demanding resumption of relief supplies. The joint committee of the organizations also urged the state government to intervene and ensure necessary help to hapless bru men, women and children.
Speaking at a Press Conference, Dilip Debbarma, Chairman of the joint committee said, the refugees who are being offered resettlement in Mizoram are fear stricken. The main reasons of their concerns are the religious influence. They are being offered resettlement in a way so that they can be divided easily in small blocks. It is an attempt to break the unity of the refugees, he claimed.
Debbarma has also alleged that this initiative is a well-concerted plan to break the religious unity of the refugees as most of the refugees were practice Hinduism whereas in Mizoram most of the population practice Christianity.
Backgrounder
On a fateful month of October in 1997, Reang people fled from their villages in western Mizoram after an ethnic tension and violence. Over 35,000 Bru, also called Reang refugees of 5,907 families took shelter in seven relief camps in northern Tripura’s two sub-divisions.They entered into Tripura and they were given shelter in camps in North Tripura and relief facilities were provided them so long. After several failed attempts, repatriation of Bru people to Mizoram started from October 1 last and will continue till November 30 next.
