Biplab Kumar Deb Urges Centre to Settle 35,000 Bru Refugees in Tripura

Agartala, November 25, 2019:

Tripura Chief Minister, Biplab Kumar Deb, has reportedly sought an unspecified amount of money from the Central Government to settle the 35,000 Bru refugees within Tripura.

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Biplab Kumar Deb reportedly made the appeal after the Brus refused to relocate to Mizoram during the ongoing repatriation drive after the Centre refused to meet their demands. The Bru leaders have stated in no unclear terms that they will not relocate to Mizoram unless a permanent rehabilitation and development package is announced.

A top Tripura Government official said that Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb last week wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to sanction funds to rehabilitate the refugees. On Sunday, Deb also met Shah to discuss the issue, and said that of the 5,400 families, comprising 35,000 refugees, 400-500 families could be settled in each sub-division of Tripura.

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After the Centre stopped cash doles and ration supply to the Brus living in Tripura, they launched a road blockade protest. The rebellion was eventually quelled after the a delegation of Tripura leaders, led by Deputy Chief Minister Jushnu Dev Varman, visited the community and assured them that their demands would be looked into.

Earlier, royal scion and former Congress President, Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman had written to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to re-settle the Brus within Tripura itself, claiming that they have a long linkage with the state of Tripura.

Over 35,000 Bru refugees, including women and children, have been sheltered in relief camps since October 1997, after they fled their villages in western Mizoram in the wake of communal tension.

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