AIZAWL, Nov 30: The Mizoram government is planning to relocate over 2,000 Bangladeshi nationals, currently seeking shelter in various villages of south Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district, to a designated zone within the same district. Lalmuanpuia Punte, political adviser to the chief minister and head of the study committee on the relocation, stated that the committee is assessing the feasibility of this move.
The government plans to gather the Bangladeshi nationals into four specific villages near the Bangladesh border, rather than having them scattered across different villages. This relocation aims to improve administrative efficiency, streamline humanitarian assistance, and help the refugees support themselves economically. The state home department reported that 2,014 Bangladeshi nationals, mostly from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), are currently residing in Lawngtlai district, which shares borders with both Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Punte, also a legislator of the ruling Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), emphasized that the government plans to formulate clear guidelines to prevent the refugees from settling or moving to areas outside the designated zone. Regarding the relocation of Myanmar nationals and internally displaced people from Manipur who are also sheltering in Mizoram, Punte clarified that there are no plans for their permanent resettlement, as conditions in their native regions are improving and they are expected to return soon.
In addition to the 2,000 Bangladeshi nationals, Mizoram is also sheltering 33,023 Myanmar nationals and 7,118 displaced individuals from Manipur, according to the state home department.
