Mizoram steps up refugee mapping; 58% of Myanmar nationals enrolled so far

Aizawl, Nov 20: Mizoram has completed 58.15% of biometric enrolment for more than 31,000 Myanmar refugees sheltered across all 11 districts, officials said.

Biometric and biographic data of 10.84% of asylum seekers from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) have also been collected.

The enrolment drive for refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh began in July on the Ministry of Home Affairs’ directive and is being conducted through the Foreigners Identification Portal and Biometric Enrolment system.

According to the official, 31,214 Myanmar nationals are currently living in Mizoram, with Champhai district, which borders Myanmar, hosting the largest share.

Alongside them, 2,354 CHT refugees have taken shelter mainly in Lawngtlai district, which borders both Myanmar and Bangladesh, and in neighbouring Lunglei and Thenzawl in Serchhip district.

The state is also accommodating 6,953 internally displaced people from Manipur, he added.

The Homem Department official also added that the biometric and biographic details of over 200 out of 2,354 Bangladesh refugees have also been captured so far.

District officials undertaking the biometric exercise are facing several challenges, including technical glitches and poor or non-existent internet connectivity in remote villages, slowing the process significantly, he said.

“While it is easier to collect data from refugees living in relief camps, it is difficult to undertake the task of collecting data of people residing with relatives or friends or in rented houses," he said.

The Myanmar nationals, mostly from Chin state, fled to Mizoram following a military coup in the neighbouring country in February 2021, while the asylum seekers belonging to Bawm tribe from Chittagong Hill Tracts came to the state after a military offensive against an ethnic insurgent group in 2022.

The Chins in Myanmar and Bawm tribe of Bangladesh share close ethnic ties with the Mizos.

PTI