AGARTALA, May 6 (TIWN): After a gap of almost one year, repatriation of Mizoram Reang tribe refugees housed in Kanchanpur in north Tripura distict after been staying for the past 15 years in camps in Tripura, would resume after May 16, SDO (Sadar) Mamit Distirct of Mizoram, T Vanlalmalsaw said on Tuesday.

"The Mizoram government has identified 359 families, comprising around 3,145 refugees, to be repatriated after  May 16," the SDO told  told TIWN.He said, “Mizoram government has informed Minister of Home Affairs and Tripura government about the decision. process. The refugees would have to leave the camps in Tripura and come back to their original villages in Mizoram as a part of the repatriation process."

As part of rehabilitation package, centre has sanctioned Rs 7 crore as first instalment for resettling the Reang families said Vanlalmalsaw, adding each family will get Rs 85,000 other than free ration for one year.       

Following ethnic tensions after killing of a Mizo forest official in Mizoram, over 41,000 Reang tribal refugees - locally called Bru - had taken shelter in six camps in north Tripura's Kanchanpur sub-division in October 1997.A total of 701 tribal families - comprising about 3,585 men, women and children - were sent back last year.

Mizoram' major NGOs and political parties, including the influential Young Mizo Association (YMA), in a memorandum to the Union Home Minister demanded that the 1995 electoral roll be the basis for determining bonafide residents of Mizoram from among the refugees lodged in Tripura camps.On the contrary, the Reang tribals strongly opposed the demand of considering 1995 as the cut-off year for the repatriation of refugees.