A number of Brus had migrated to Tripura from Mizoram in the wake of ethnic tension arising out of the demand for a separate autonomous district council by the Bru National Union (BNU) in 1997, official sources said quoting recent reports.

The Mizoram Government contended that the Brus left the State due to threats from Bru militants who "asked their own people not to be caught in the crossfire" during encounter with Mizoram police, the sources said.

The MZP also demanded the price of foodgrains should be slashed for the north-eastern States and the matter be taken up with Centre.

Rain water harvesting: Mizoram’s Public Health Engineering (PHE) department has successfully implemented rain water harvesting schemes in at least 100 villages in the State under Centrally-sponsored schemes (CSS), department officials said.

Each of the 123 families in one village, about 20 km from Aizawl, was provided with water tank having 7,500-litre capacity, constructed at a cost of Rs 13,800. The project is expected to cater to the needs of each family during four dry months, the officials said. "This is the best and most useful development project ever implemented by the government in our village," village council president H. Laldawngliana said. Rain water would be stored in the tanks. PHE officials said that the scheme, launched in 1986, has been successful due to its close conformity with Mizo traditional way of storing water and also due to the fact that rain water in Mizoram is fit for drinking purposes as the hilly air is free from
pollution.

Meanwhile, the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) would send a delegation comprising representatives of Mizo Students’ Federation and Tripura Students’ Union to Reang/Bru refugee camps and Mizo settlement areas.