GUWAHATI: The Mizoram Bru Displaced People Coordination Committee (MBDPCC) and the Bru Displaced Welfare Organisation (BDWO) have welcomed the initiatives taken by the Tripura government, parties and NGOs for resettlement of the displaced Bru people in the state.
A meeting in this regard was held at the MBDPCC headquarters at Naisingpara in north Tripura on Tuesday following which the two NGOs issued a joint statement expressing satisfaction over the steps taken by the state government for restoring lives of over 4000 Bru families who have not been repatriated so far.
The ninth and the final round of repatriation of the displaced Bru families ended on November 30, 2019, with a little less than 300 out of the 4,447 families reported to be repatriated to Mizoram even as the Centre plans to close down the seven relief camps in Tripura.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the two Bru NGOs also thanked Union home minister, Amit Shah for his assurance in regard to resettlement of the Bru camp inmates, during the consultative meeting with leaders of various civil society organisations in New Delhi recently.
The Union home minister had assured to provide rehabilitation package (similar to the one in Mizoram), including land, to the Bru camp inmates in Tripura.
“Soon after the quadrilateral agreement was signed on July 3, 2018, the Bru inmates were flabbergasted because the agreement could not ensure development and provide safety measures. This is the reason why a majority of the camp inmates were not ready for repatriation. Therefore, they did not have any other option but to stay back in Tripura,” the statement issued by MBDPCC president, Laldingliana and BDWO general secretary, E.J. Chorkhy, said.
“We do believe that the Tripura government and the Union government will take adequate steps to solve the problems of displaced Brus, who have been lodged at the relief camps for 22 years, at the earliest,” the statement said.