Mizoram is in full swing to conduct biometric registration of over 32,000 Myanmar refugees living here in the state currently, a top government official said on Wednesday. Conducted in the eleven districts of the state of the northeast, the initiative will be held with the promotion of refugee identification and management during the current month.
Addressing the additional Home Secretary of the State, Andrew H. Vanlaldika, said that the enrollment exercise would require the biometric data along with the demographic data of the refugees and would be enabled through the Foreigner Identification portal created by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
Vanlaldika noted that it was also a process of identification only, and not to be construed to be a step towards the deportation. The biometric enrolment is done particularly to enlist and report the Myanmar refugees. It is not related to a deportation plan of sorts in any way whatsoever, he explained to the news agency.
Training of officials at the district level has already been held, as well as the provision of equipment needed, like computers, webcams, and biometric equipment, to make the exercise easy. Vanlaldika further added, it will be implemented online by trained staff, and depending upon the preparedness of each administration framing districts, it will start this month.
Deputy Commissioner Lalhriatpuia told a news agency in Aizawl district, where most of the Myanmar refugees live [around 3,000], that the process would start shortly. Nevertheless, he agreed that the issue of refugees is hard to track as they constantly cross the border.
According to the data released by the Home Department, there are presently 32,419 Myanmar nationals living in Mizoram who had taken refuge there in the wake of the violence that has been going on in Myanmar since the military coup in 2021. Vanlaldika further alluded that the same exercise can also be carried out for Bangladeshi nationals resident in the Lawngtlai district, subject to further guidelines by the central government.
The high population enrollment is an important administrative development that records and administers displaced populations in the area.
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