Aizawl: The Mizoram government is making massive efforts to collect biometric and demographic details of over 35,000 Myanmar refugees taking shelter in the state, a senior official from the Home Department said on Sunday.
The senior official said the enrollment exercise is expected to begin in the last week of July.
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He added that the enrollment will be done online using the Foreigner Identification Portal and will first be carried out in towns and villages where there is good internet connectivity.
He said all Myanmar refugees, including those who entered recently following the armed conflict between Chin armed groups in Chin State, will be covered.
The official mentioned that the government has earmarked Rs. 38 lakh for the exercise, which will be funded by the Central Government.
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Additional funds will be allocated if required, he added.
He noted that offline mode may also be needed, as many refugees live in remote areas with poor internet connectivity.
The biometric enrollment exercise will be carried out by district administrations headed by deputy commissioners, who will be provided with all necessary equipment, he said.
Officials said that more than 35,000 refugees from Myanmar are currently taking shelter in various parts of the state, with Champhai district hosting the highest number.
However, the number of refugees changes almost daily, as some Myanmar nationals frequently return to their villages in Myanmar and come back to Mizoram, they said.
The Myanmar refugees mostly belong to the Chin community from Chin State, who share ethnic ties with the Mizos.
They fled their villages and took shelter in Mizoram after the military coup in February 2021.