Refugee repatriation affected due to blockade in Tripura

Agartala, Nov 18 : The second phase of Reang refugee repatriation, scheduled to begin today, was affected due to road blockade by a faction of refugees on the Tripura-Mizoram road, North Tripura officials said. According to a report, the Mizoram officials could not complete the refugee identification in four camps in Kanchanpur of North Tripura following the blockade by a group of refugees who opposed it.

The identification task started on November 13 last for the second phase of repatriation but it could not be completed despite the initiative from both the Mizoram and Tripura administration, the report stated.

Earlier, 53 families had returned to Mizoram during the first phase of repatriation on November 3 and 4 last.

On the other hand, Bru Displaced Welfare Organisation (BDWO) threatened to launch an agitation against the repatriation and argued that the second phase would start only after the successful implementation of the package for those who had returned home. The BDWO stated that they would not favour immediate return of remaining refugees sheltered in six camps in Kanchanpur unless the Mizoram government implemented the rehabilitation package.