Mizoram to record biometrics of displaced people of Myanmar, Bangladesh living in state

Mizoram authorities will record the biometrics of displaced people from Myanmar and Bangladesh taking shelter in the state.

According to officials, the training of officers is being held across the state for the exercise, expected to begin at the end of July.

Recording of biometric and demographic details will be conducted online, using the foreigners' identification portal.

However, offline mode may also be used as many of these displaced people live in rural areas where there is poor internet connectivity, they added.

In a statement, the government said training on the 'Foreigners Identification Portal and Biometric Enrolment' for displaced persons from Myanmar and Bangladesh was held on Friday in Lunglei.

The session organised by the Lunglei District Level Committee on Myanmar & Bangladesh Refugees aimed to sensitise and equip officers for proper identification and enrollment of displaced people, it said.

Lunglei's Additional SP K Beihmotaosa briefed the officers on steps taken so far, including the formation of 10 biometric enrolment teams and equipment requisition from the Home Department.

The enrollment drive is set to begin this month, starting with Ramthar Camp and expanding to eight other camps in the district, it said.

A total of 27 team members were trained by master trainers through practical and interactive sessions during the event, the statement said.

Officials said that similar trainings are being held in other districts as well.

According to the Home Department, more than 32,000 Myanmar nationals are presently staying in Mizoram's 11 districts.

The number, however, keeps changing almost on a daily basis as some of them have a habit of going to their country and coming back to Mizoram, officials said.

The Home Department also said that 2,371 Bangladeshi nationals from the Chittagong Hill Tracts are staying in the state.

In addition, more than 7,000 Zo ethnic people from Manipur, displaced by ethnic violence, have taken shelter in the state.

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 from Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts came to the state after a military offensive against an ethnic insurgent group in 2022.

The Chins in Myanmar, the Bawm tribe of Bangladesh and the Kuki-zo people from Manipur share close ethnic ties with the Mizos.