Tripura: Bru community blocks Assam-Agartala highway over pending resettlement promises

Over 100 Bru or Reang people blockaded the Assam-Agartala National Highway (NH-08), demanding the creation of new Village Committees and allocation of agricultural land in 13 Bru resettlement locations in Ambassa, under the Dhalai District of Tripura.  

From the morning, the Bru people have been protesting, causing a massive traffic jam on the highway.  

Speaking with reporters, one agitator said that while signing the agreement for the permanent settlement of Bru people, the government had assured agricultural land for all families, but nothing has been done so far.  

“We were assured 5 hectares of agricultural land for each family and the formation of separate Village Committees for us. Until these issues are resolved, our protest will continue,” said one agitator.  

Another protester mentioned that while some Bru people have received agricultural land, many others have not.  

“It was mentioned in the agreement. But the majority of the people haven’t received it. We have been demanding Village Committees for a long time, but nothing has been done yet. We have informed the officials multiple times, but there has been no response from the administration,” said another agitator.  

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On January 16, 2020, the Government of India, the Governments of Tripura and Mizoram, and Bru-Reang representatives signed an agreement for the permanent resettlement of the Bru people.  

In 1997, following ethnic tensions, around 5,000 families comprising approximately 30,000 Bru-Reang tribals were forced to flee Mizoram and seek shelter in Tripura. These people were housed in temporary camps in Kanchanpur, North Tripura.  

Since 2010, the Government of India has been making sustained efforts to permanently rehabilitate these refugees. The Union government has been assisting the two state governments in taking care of the refugees.  

By 2014, 1,622 Bru-Reang families had returned to Mizoram in different batches.  

On July 3, 2018, an agreement was signed between the Union government, the two state governments, and representatives of the Bru-Reang refugees. As a result, the aid provided to these families was substantially increased. Subsequently, 328 families comprising 1,369 individuals returned to Mizoram under this agreement.  

However, there has been a sustained demand from most Bru-Reang families to settle in Tripura, citing apprehensions about their security in Mizoram.