Mizoram completes 58% biometric enrolment of Myanmar refugees across 11 districts
Aizawl: Mizoram has completed 58.15 per cent biometric enrolment of over 31,000 Myanmar refugees taking shelter across all 11 districts of the state, a Home Department official said on Wednesday.
The biometric and biographic details of about 10.84 per cent of asylum seekers from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) have also been collected, the official said.
He said the biometric enrolment of Myanmar and Bangladesh refugees began in the latter part of July based on a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), using the ‘Foreigners Identification Portal & Biometric Enrolment’.
A total of 31,214 people from Myanmar are currently taking shelter in all 11 districts of the state, with East Mizoram’s Champhai district, bordering Myanmar, hosting the highest number.
A total of 2,354 refugees from the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh have also taken shelter mainly in Lawngtlai district, which borders both Myanmar and Bangladesh, as well as in the adjoining Lunglei district and Thenzawl town of central Mizoram’s Serchhip district, he said.
Additionally, 6,953 internally displaced people from Manipur are currently taking shelter in different parts of the state, he added.
However, the number of refugees, particularly those from Myanmar, keeps changing almost daily due to constant cross-border movement, he said.
Out of the 31,214 Myanmar refugees in Mizoram, biometric data of over 18,000 (58.15%) have been collected since July.
Biometric and biographic details of over 200 out of 2,354 Bangladesh refugees have also been captured so far, he said.
The official said district teams tasked with collecting biometric data are facing numerous challenges, including technical snags and the unavailability or weakness of internet connectivity in remote villages, resulting in the process moving at a snail’s pace.
While it is easier to collect data from refugees living in relief camps, it is difficult to reach those staying with relatives, friends, or in rented houses, he said.
He also clarified that there is no specific deadline for the completion of the entire exercise.
The Myanmar nationals, mostly from Chin State, fled to Mizoram following the military coup in the neighbouring country in February 2021, while the asylum seekers from Bangladesh’s Bawm tribe entered the state after a military offensive against an ethnic insurgent group in 2022.
The Chins of Myanmar and the Bawm tribe of Bangladesh share close ethnic ties with the Mizos.