Aizawl, Sept 15: A team of officials from Mizoram
Election department issued electoral photo identity cards
(EPICs) to 98.65 per cent of Bru voters, now lodged in six
relief camps of neighbouring North Tripura district.
State's Joint Chief Electoral Officer Lalhmingthanga said
the total number of Bru voters who received the EPICs are
6,479 while the total number of Bru refugees included in the
voters' list are 8,061 as per the draft electoral rolls of
2008.
"Our officials conducted the survey inside the six relief
camps and there are 6,627 voters identified as bona fide
residents of Mizoram..." he said.
The team from Mizoram was conducting the survey in the
six relief camps under the watchful eyes of the representative
from the Election Commission, he said.
Thousands of Bru refugees fled Mizoram and migrated en
masse to neighbouring Tripura during 1997 after Bru
insurgents, who declared armed insurrection against the
Mizoram government and the Mizo people, instructed them to
take refuge in that state.
They have been languishing in the relief camps ever since
the underground Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) and Bru
Liberation Front of Mizoram (BLFM) signed agreement with the
state government and came overground.
The Centre's failure to release fund earmarked for
repatriation of the Brus from Tripura was attributed to the
hurdle that prevented the implementation of the repatriation
process.
Bureau Report
