AIZAWL: Mizoram Home Minister K Sapdanga on Monday stated that the government will continue to offer relief to more than 42,000 individuals from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Manipur who have taken refuge in the state.
He said that, according to the most recent data from the Home Department, there are 9,248 individuals from Manipur, 32,161 from Myanmar, and 1,167 from Bangladesh currently residing in the state.
In response to a query raised in assembly, Sapdanga mentioned that people migrating from these places are changing constantly, making it a challenge to maintain a daily record.
The home minister said, “We will keep assisting refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh, as well as people displaced from Manipur, based on humanitarian principles.”
He further mentioned that the Central government allocated Rs 3 crores to the Previous Mizo National Front (MNF) government to aid the individuals from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Manipur.
Earlier on February 29, Chief Minister Lalduhoma announced that his state won’t gather biometric date of Myanmar and Bangladeshi refugees.
He said that an online tool meant to help identify and deport illegal immigrants was now being used on refugees. The CM assured that not one refugee would be deported until their home countries were peaceful again.
Right now, Mizoram shelters over 32,000 nationals from Myanmar and 1,167 Bangladeshis. There is a challenging humanitarian crisis. People from Myanmar sought asylum after the military's takeover in February 2021, and the Bangladeshis escaped military action in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in November 2022. Also, more than 9,000 Mizoram residents displaced by ethnic violence are seeking shelter in their state.
Mizoram's Champhai district has the largest number of Myanmar refugees currently. The Lawngtlai district, on the other hand, provides shelter to Bangladeshi nationals. The state's diverse population is greatly influenced by the Mizos' ethnic connections to the Chin people of Myanmar, Bangladesh's Bawm group, and Manipur's Kuki-Zo community.
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