Bru refugees adamant, prolong road blockade stir for food
Our Bureau
AGARTALA, November 6, 2019: Thousands of Mizoram Bru refugees housed in makeshift camps in north Tripura continued their road blockade agitation for seventh day on Wednesday. Vehicular movement in Kanchanpur, Dasda, Ananda Bazar and other places in the district have been severely hit due to the unrelenting stir to press demand for restoration of ration and relief supply in the camps.
The authorities suspended supply of ration materials to comply with directives of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which has been bearing financial burden to look after 33,000 plus evacuees housed in six camps. MHA issued directive after latest repatriation process which was slated to complete in October failed.
Irate refugees are complaining starvation deaths occurring in the camps after stoppage of ration. The district administration confirmed four deaths.
The refugees have now started demanding rehabilitation within Tripura as many of them originally migrated to Mizoram from the state. Several indigenous organisations supported the demand.
The issue got a fresh turn after royal scion of the state Pradyot Kishore Manikya justified the demand. He visited the camps on Wednesday and distributed food materials to the refugees.
Police and administration are reluctant to use force to break the agitation to avoid serious repercussions across the state. There are indications that ration supply might be commenced in a day or two.