Aizawl: More than 1,900 refugees have been enrolled in the ongoing biometric enrollment exercise for people from Myanmar and Bangladesh who have taken refuge in Mizoram, an official said on Monday.
He said the biometric enrollment for over 32,000 Myanmar refugees taking shelter across all 11 districts of the state, and nearly 3,000 Bangladeshi refugees from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), began in a few districts on July 28, followed by most other districts on July 30 and 31.
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The exercise is progressing at a slow pace due to technical issues and poor internet connectivity, he said.
As of Friday, district administrations have captured the biometric and demographic details of 1,947 refugees across the 11 districts, according to the official.
He said enrollment teams have encountered several challenges, including technical glitches with electronic devices and poor internet connectivity in remote areas, which have hampered the smooth conduct of the exercise.
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Although collecting biometric and biographic data of refugees living in relief camps is easier, district officials faced difficulties in enrolling children studying in Aizawl or outside the district where their parents are currently taking shelter, he said.
He added that officials could not expedite the enrollment exercise for refugees living outside relief camps, especially those staying in rented houses or with relatives and friends.
According to the state home department, a total of 32,504 Myanmar refugees are currently taking shelter across all 11 districts of Mizoram, with Champhai district hosting the highest number at 13,586.
The number, however, changes almost daily, as some refugees have the habit of returning to their country and coming back to Mizoram repeatedly, officials said.
Although Champhai, which hosts the highest number of Myanmar refugees, began the enrollment exercise on July 31, officials have enrolled only seven refugees so far due to technical glitches with electronic devices.
The district administration collected new devices from Aizawl on Saturday, and officials expect the exercise to proceed more smoothly this week.
Additionally, more than 2,000 Bangladeshi refugees have taken shelter in south Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district, 266 in Serchhip, and 63 in Lunglei district, the home department said.
The Myanmar nationals, mostly from Chin State, fled to Mizoram following a military coup in the neighbouring country in February 2021, while asylum seekers from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts arrived in the state after a military offensive against an ethnic insurgent group in 2022.
The Chins in Myanmar and the Bawm tribe of Bangladesh share close ethnic ties with the Mizos.