Centre yet to respond to SOS
GUWAHATI: The Centre is yet to respond to the letter by three NGOs requesting immediate resumption of ration and cash distribution among seven camps housing displaced Brus in north Tripura even as the spectre of starvation looms large.
The ministry of home affairs had stopped distribution of relief to the seven camps from last month prior to the ninth and final phase of repatriation which began on October 3, 2019 and will continue till November 30, 2019..
Concerned at the state of affairs in the camps, the three NGOs, Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples’ Forum (MBDPF), Mizoram Bru Indigenous Democratic Movement (MBIDM) and Bru Tribal Development Society, which had intimated the Centre on Thursday, are now contemplating an agitation in the next couple of days. “If there is no response in the next couple of days, we will be bound to launch an agitation, starting with road blockades,” MBDPF general secretary, Bruno Msha told The Shillong Times on Sunday.
For now, the groups have joined hands to contribute from their end what they can to keep the families in the camps “alive”.
“The situation in the camps is very serious and we are concerned about the impending casualties owing to starvation. It has been 27 days now since food supply has been stopped.
The condition will worsen after five or six days and a breakdown in law and order cannot be ruled out either. Hunger may compel inmates to even loot godowns housing food,” Msha warned.
According to sources in Tripura, close to 100 displaced Bru families have been repatriated even as figures cited by the Mizoram government are higher.
“The decision to stop relief supply is unconstitutional and undemocratic on the part of the Union home ministry and Mizoram government as it violates human rights. Many organisations and groups across the country have lent support to our cause,” he said.