Over 32000 Bru refugees living in transit camps of Panisagar and Kanchanpur sub-divisions in North Tripura district will not have any ration supplies from January 15.
Kanchanpur sub-divisional magistrate Abhedananda Baidya on Wednesday said that they have received instructions from the Centre that they can continue to provide assistance to the Bru refugees in the form of food grains and cash dole till January 15, 2019.
According to a report in the Indian Express, the Centre had started the eighth phase of repatriation of Bru refugees from August 25, 2018 as per a four-corner agreement signed with refugee leaders.
However, the repatriation package offered to them was rejected by most of the refugees saying it was insufficient for them.
The repatriation process which continued till September 25, 2018 saw only 150 refugees from 42 districts repatriated to Mizoram and 32000 remaining sheltered in transit camps of Tripura.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) halted all relief supplies from October 1 last year due to the failure of repatriation.
However, the relief supply was commenced three weeks later due to severe food crisis in the refugee camps.
MHA Joint Secretary Satyendra Garg had in his letter to Tripura last year clearly told them that they may continue to provide relief supplies to the refugees till January 15, 2019.
Referring to the letter, Baidya said that since no new order has been received from the Centre, the relief supplies will be continued only till January 15 and halted after that.