Mizoram: Will continue to support 40,000 refugees who have taken shelter in state, says CM Lalduhoma

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhona said that his government will continue to provide support to the over 40,000 people from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Manipur who have taken shelter in the state. 

Speaking in the assembly, Lalduhoma said he had discussed the issue with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar over the phone before he was sworn in as the chief minister. 

He said that he would meet the two leaders in Delhi to discuss the matter and seek the Centre's help. The opinion of the Centre should be kept in mind when a statement is made on the matter because it is a sensitive issue, he added. 

Lalduhoma, however, said that the state government will continue to look after these people. 

"It is not a political but a humanitarian issue. We will continue to look after and provide shelter to the refugees and internally displaced people based on the availability of our resources," he said. 

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Over 31,300 Myanmar nationals and more than 1,100 Bangladeshis have taken shelter in Mizoram, according to the state Home Department. 

The Myanmar nationals belonging to the Chin community, who share ethnic ties with Mizos, have taken shelter in Mizoram following a military coup in the neighbouring country in February 2021. 

People of the Bawm or Mizo community of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (HCT) fled the gunfight between the Bangladesh army and an insurgent group and took shelter in the Northeastern state in November last year. 

Besides, nearly 12,000 people from Manipur have also been living in different parts of Mizoram since May due to ethnic clashes in the neighbouring state. The previous Mizo National Front (MNF) government had urged the Centre to provide financial assistance of Rs 10 crore for the people from Manipur who are living in Mizoram.