Landslides in Mizoram Make it Impossible For Bru Repatriation

Aizawl, Oct 12 : Landslides triggered by heavy rains this month has made repatriation of Bru refugees from six relief camps in Tripura practically impossible, Mizoram Home Secretary Lalmalsawma said here today.

The roads connecting the villages selected for resettlement of the refugees, staying in Kanchanpur sub-division of North Tripura district, were blocked by landslides and rendered inaccessible by vehicles, Lalmalsawma said.

The state home department has requested the Union Home Ministry to extend of the deadline for repatriation from October 18 to November 18.

However, the state was yet to receive any response from the Home Ministry, he said.

According to the Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF), which had conducted population survey of the Bru refugees in Tripura, there were 31,703 people belonging to 5,448 families.

Majority of the refugees left Mizoram in 1997, while a few hundreds other fled to Tripura in the wake of the murder of a 17-year-old Mizo boy on November 13, 2009 by Bru militants.