Fresh Census Begins in Tripura Refugee Camps

Agartala, Aug 4 : A fresh Census for Reang refugees lodging in six camps of North Tripura for over a decade following ethnic clash in Western Mizoram began last week with the initiative of the Mizoram government.

Officials in North Tripura today said owing to a miscalculation in the head count of refugees, the Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF), the apex body of the Reang refugees, had initiated rechecking of the numbers to clear all ambiguity.

The head counting had begun on July 31 following instruction from the Mizoram government to pave the way for repatriation of Bru refugees and is expected to be completed by August 7, Elvis Chorky, MBDPF president, said.

He said the refugees were categorized into two groups - those who migrated en masse in 1997 and those in 2009.

The first category of refugees had fled Mizoram following communal tension triggered by the killing of a forest guard inside Dampa Tiger Reserve in October 1997 by militants belonging to the erstwhile Bru National Liberation Front.

Mr Chorky informed that after finalisation of the number, the Mizoram government was expected to take back the remaining refugees who were evicted from their homeland in November 2009. At present 422 Bru families are still living in different camps.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had also assured Bru leaders that the Mizoram government was instructed to ensure return of all refugees before October this year and the Union Ministry would take all efforts to ensure the repatriation.