117 more Myanmar refugees enter Mizoram, 75 leave state since mid Nov

Aizawl: With the arrival of 117 more refugees from Myanmar and departure of 75 from mid Nov to Dec 3, their number in Mizoram has gone up by 42.
State disaster management & rehabilitation officials Sunday said 113 more refugees entered Serchhip district in central Mizoram during Nov 16 to Nov 23, while 59 and 19 people left southern Mizoram's Siaha district and northeastern Khawzawl district respectively during the same period. Four Myanmarese refugees arrived and took shelter in Kolasib district bordering Assam recently.
At present, Mizoram hosts 33,036 refugees from Myanmar, of which 9,902 are males, 10,501 are females and 12,633 are children.
At least 16,575 refugees from the neighbouring conflict-torn country have been kept in 126 relief camps in seven districts while there are no such shelters in four districts. Altogether 16,461 refugees are staying outside the relief camps.
Meanwhile, state home department officials said 7,118 internally displaced people from strife-torn Manipur are taking shelter in Mizoram, while the number of refugees from Bangladesh in southern Mizoram's Lawngtlai district bordering Bangladesh and Myanmar remains 2,014.
A team formed by the state govt to systematise the relief camps by keeping the refugees in more compact areas is yet to submit its report. Lalmuanpuia Punte, adviser to chief minister (political) and chairman of the study team, said while the relocation of Bangladesh refugees along the border areas was easily accomplished, bringing the scattered Myanmar refugees and IDPs from Manipur in one place will require time.
"Myanmar refugees are convinced that the military junta is on the verge of collapse and they can return to their respective native places, while a vast majority of IDPs from Manipur also think that they can return safely to their villages soon," Punte said.