The repatriation process of Bru tribals to be start from Tripura to Mizoram

The Mizoram government will start the repatriation process of Bru (Reang) tribals from Tripura to Mizoram from August 14 to September 10. The Brus are in Tripura since late 1997 in the wake of a communal tension triggered by the murder of a forest guard inside the Dampa Tiger Reserve on October 21, 1997 by Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) militants. Regarding to this issue, the Centre, state governments of Mizoram and Tripura and the Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF), the apex body of the Bru community in the relief camps, have on July 3 signed an agreement in New Delhi for repatriation of all the Bru refugees from Tripura before September 30. According to the agreement, Rs 4 lakh would be deposited in the account of the head of each repatriated Bru family, which would mature after three years, and a payment of Rs 1.5 lakh as housing assistance. Each repatriated Bru family would also be given Rs 5,000 through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) every month and free ration for two years. Altogether 32,876 Brus belonging to 5,407 families are lodged in six relief camps in North Tripura district..