AIZAWL, Sept 29 - Repatriation of over 4,400 Bru families from Tripura to Mizoram will begin on October 3, two days later than the earlier schedule.
Officials of the Mizoram home department said that the repatriation was deferred due to some unavoidable circumstances, including Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. They also said the Bru inmates at the Kaskau camp will be repatriated to Mamit district, followed by refugees lodged at Naisingpara, Hazacherra and other camps. The refugees will be resettled in Mamit, Lunglei and Kolasib districts.
Transportation will be arranged by the Mizoram government, unlike the Tripura government in the previous repatriation.
Kanhmun village on the Mizoram-Tripura border will be used as a facilitation centre.
Meanwhile, home department officials said leaders of the Mizoram Bru Displaced People�s Forum (MBDPF) recently met Chief Minister Zoramthanga to urge him that Bru leaders should be allowed to conduct inspection of the village where the refugees are proposed to be resettled.
Thousands of Bru people from Mizoram had migrated to Tripura due to communal tension in 1997. Since then, they have been living in six relief camps in Tripura. The Centre provides ration to them.
In 2009, the first attempt was made to repatriate the refugees. However, the alleged murder of a Mizo youth by suspected Bru militants not only scuttled the repatriation, but also triggered another wave of Bru exodus from Mizoram. The repatriation this time will not cover those Bru families who had migrated to Tripura in 2009.
