Mizoram completes 58 pc biometric enrolment of Myanmar refugees: Officials

Aizawl, Nov 20 (PTI) Mizoram has completed 58.15 per cent biometric enrolment of more than 31,000 Myanmar refugees sheltered across all 11 districts of the state, a home department official has said.

He said biometric and biographic details of 10.84 per cent of asylum seekers from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) have also been collected.

Enrolment of Myanmar and Bangladesh refugees began in July following a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and is being carried out using the Foreigners Identification Portal and Biometric Enrolment system, the official said.

According to him, 31,214 people from Myanmar are presently living in various parts of Mizoram, with Champhai district, which borders the neighbouring country, hosting the highest number.

Besides Myanmar nationals, 2,354 refugees from Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts have taken shelter mainly in Lawngtlai district — which shares borders with both Myanmar and Bangladesh — as well as adjoining Lunglei district and Thenzawl town in Serchhip district, he said.

Additionally, 6,953 internally displaced people from Manipur are also currently taking shelter in different parts of the state, he added.

According to him, 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 CORR MNB