Bru refugees continue to block road demanding resumption of free ration

Aizawl, Nov. 1 (PTI): Bru refugees living in relief camps in Tripura continued to stage blockade at a key area in north Tripura district for the second consecutive day on Friday, which disrupted communication and hindered the ongoing repatriation process, officials said. The refugees blocked the road between Dosda in Kanchanpur and Anandabazar area demanding resumption of free ration and cash-dole to them. “Brus have been demanding resumption of free ration and cash-dole to thousands of inmates of the relief camps. It was stopped by the centre from last month as the ninth and final repatriation process from October 3 has been commenced,” the officials said. The ongoing repatriation is scheduled to be completed by November 30. The Centre and the Mizoram government were committed to continue the process as per schedule despite opposition and obstruction from some Bru leaders who were against the process, the officials said. Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF) general secretary Bruno Msha told PTI over phone from Tripura that the “blockade was total with over ten thousand people sitting on the road”. Msha, however, said they have not received any communication so far from the government on their demands. “the specter of starvation (is) looming large over the displaced Brus due to the discontinuation of rations and cash-dole from October, 2019 onward,” MBDPF wrote to North Tripura District Magistrate Ravel H Kumar on Tuesday. The decision to stop the supply of rations amid the repatriation was “unconstitutional and blatant violation of human rights, the letter, signed by MBDPF president A Sawibunga and Msha, read. Every adult Bru person living in a camp gets Rs 3.50 in cash and 600 grams of rice per day as allowances, while each minor receives Rs 2.50 in cash and 300 grams of rice per day, official sources said adding that they get clothes in every three years. Meanwhile, 214 Bru families have returned to Mizoram since October 3 till date and the repatriation process could not be continued from Thursday due to the road blockade, the officials said. During the eighth round of repatriation, the Ministry of Home Affairs had warned that the relief camps would be closed down from October 1, 2018 and free ration and money doled to the displaced families would be discontinued. However, that phase did not bear much fruit. While the MHA did stop the free ration and cash dole from October 1, 2018, the Centre restarted it apparently due to political reasons as Mizoram assembly election was nearing. The Centre has approved INR 350 crore for the ninth phase of repatriation and the amount covers transportation and rehabilitation package expenses, which include INR 5,000 per month for each resettled Bru family in Mizoram and free ration for them for two years.