Without ration for 20 days, Bru refugees threaten to loot food

Going without ration for 20 days, an organisation of the Bru refugees living in relief camps in Tripura Saturday threatened to loot a government godown.

The Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF) expressed concern at the delay of supply of ration to the relief camps for the last 20 days, while it should have reached them by the fifth of this month.

Officials said officials formalities led to the delay.

The camp inmates receive Rs 5 per day to each adult, Rs 2.5 to each minor, 600 gram of rice to each adult on a daily basis, three soaps in a year, one pair of slippers every year and a mosquito net in every three years, they said.

Around 35,000 Brus are sheltered in six camps in Kanchanpur sub-division in North Tripura district after they fled from neighbouring Mizoram in phases following ethnic clashes with the Mizos since 1997.

MBDPF general secretary Bruno Msha and president A Sawibunga jointly wrote a letter to North Tripura District Magistrate C K Jamatiyat, saying "ration for the month of April, 2019 has not distributed till today whereas the due date to receive the ration is generally from 1st to 5th of every month".

The condition of relief camp inmates is deteriorating every day as they have almost exhausted their share of rice from previous month's supplies, the letter said.

"There will be many casualties in the camps due to starvation if the ration is delayed for some more days, the letter said.

The state government should take immediate steps for distribution of ration, failing which the Brus would put up road blockades and loot the nearest government relief godown.

Kanchanpur Sub-Divisional Magistrate Abhedananda Baidya said the delay in supplies of rations was caused due to official formalities since the Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier asked to halt supplies to camps after March 31, 2019.

"According to a new order, the ration supplies till September was extended but formalities are taking some time. We hope to release supplies in the camps within a day or two," the official said.

The MBDPF letter also claimed that ration supplies to the camps were delayed by 10-20 days every month since the last 4 years.