Bru/Reang Camp Gutted, 1800 People Homeless

Agartala, Mar 16 : About 1800 people became homeless after an entire camp of Bru/Reang refugees in North Tripura district was gutted in a major fire, officials said here today.

The camp with 320 makeshift houses made of bamboo and straw at Hamshapara was reduced to ashes by the fire that broke out in one of the huts yesterday.

The inmates are now sheltered in nearby Khedachhara community hall and Khedachhara school.

Senior officers of Kanchanpur sub-division, including the SDO, are in the area to arrange for food, drinking water and other essential items for the victims, they said.

The cause for fire is yet to be ascertained.

About 35,000 displaced Bru/Reang people from neighboring Mizoram are now sheltered in six camps in the sub-division including the Hamshapara camp.

The Bru/Reang people were forced to flee following ethnic conflicts with the Mizos since 1997.