Mizoram govt to relocate refugees to concentrated locations for administrative convenience

Aizawl, Nov. 22: The Adviser to the Mizoram Chief Minister, LaImuanpuia Punte, on Thursday stated that the State Government is planning to relocate refugees in Mizoram to concentrated locations rather than allowing them to remain scattered across multiple villages.

The step is taken for administrative convenience.

At a meeting in Lawngtlai district with officials, including Deputy Commissioner Cheemala Siva Gopal Reddy, Punte said he came to study the condition of refugees taking shelter in the district. He stressed the need for a regimented mechanism to manage refugee settlements, particularly in anticipation of future influxes.

"Formal guidelines should be established to prevent refugees established to prevent refugees from settling wherever they choose or shifting locations at will. Proper arrangements must be made to keep them together as much as possible," he said.

Relocating refugees will facilitate administration and aid distribution, Punte added, noting that plans are under way to resettle

2,014 refugees from Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts in four villages - Parva, Damdep-II, Cherluitlang, and Saizawh 'W'.

A study team has already assessed these villages and will soon submit its report to the High-Level Committee on Bangladesh Refugees, he said.

The Lawngtlai DC highlighted that the district, bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh, currently shelters 6,030 refugees from Myanmar, 2,014 from Bangladesh, and 84 internally displaced persons from Manipur.

- By Correspondent