Mizoram begins biometric enrolment drive for Myanmar refugees in Serchhip district
Sixteen Myanmarese nationals residing in Chanmari locality of Serchhip town were enrolled during the session, said Serchhip district nodal officer for Foreigners Identification Portal & Biometric Enrolment, Vanthangpuia.
'This is the first biometric enrolment drive in the entire state, and Chanmari was chosen for its smaller refugee population to facilitate a practical, on-the-spot session for officials,' Vanthangpuia told HT, adding that a comprehensive drive would start on August 5.
Serchhip currently has 647 Myanmarese and 266 Bangladeshi refugees across more than 30 villages. Similar enrolment exercises are scheduled to begin in Champhai, Saitual, and Lunglei districts from Thursday, according to a statement by the state government.
Mizoram has refugees in all 11 districts, with the largest number in Champhai district, which houses 13,586 refugees. Officials in Champhai said enrolment teams using the Foreigners Identification Portal & Biometric Enrolment (FIP&BE) system will begin tagging individuals in Vengthlang, Kanan Veng, and Dinthar Veng areas of Champhai town.
Mizoram's home department estimates that over 37,000 people from Myanmar are currently residing in the state. Officials, however, underline that the figures fluctuate due to cross-border movements.
Additional home secretary H Vanlaldika said the enrolment was being carried out through a system developed by the National Informatics Centre and indicated that a similar process could be conducted in districts where Bangladeshi nationals live if the state receives instructions from the Centre.
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