Aizawl: The Mizoram government is preparing to initiate biometric enrollment for over 33,000 Myanmar refugees in the state, awaiting instructions from the Centre, as directed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs last year.
A new biometric enrollment portal has been set up, and once the Centre gives the go-ahead, the process of collecting biometric data will commence, according to a home department official.
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma had earlier mentioned about the readiness of the enrollment portal for data collection.
The state government had initially started training and appointing officers for the process but later halted due to assembly polls. Lalduhoma expressed concerns about refugees fearing deportation due to the directive.
During a meeting with Shah, Lalduhoma received assurance that no refugees would be deported until peace is restored in neighbouring countries.
Currently, there are 33,835 Myanmar nationals and 1,800 Bangladeshi nationals seeking shelter in Mizoram along with 8,000 internally displaced people from Mizoram.
Published 19 June 2024, 04:47 IST