Move to bring back violence hit people before Census

Shillong, Feb 7 (PTI) Thousands of people displaced inthe recent ethnic riots along the Assam-Meghalaya border areyet to return to their native places, but Census officialssaid the administrations were trying to bring them back forenumeration beginning February 9.

Meghalaya Census Operations director KL Tariang todaysaid the administrations of Meghalaya�s East Garo Hills andAssam�s Goalpara district are taking steps to bring back thedisplaced people before the headcount was undertaken.

Some 50,000 people were displaced in the 9-day ethnicriots last month in which 12 people were killed and over 2,000houses torched.

Officials said over 6,000 people who have fled fromMeghalaya to Assam in the wake of the riots were yet toreturn, while a few hundred of them from Assam had takenshelter in relief camps in Meghalaya.

In the second phase of the Census, 5688 enumeratorsand 995 supervisors will carry out the headcount in Meghalayaand the revision round slated for March 1-5.

On illegal migrants, Tariang said, "It is not possiblefor us to identify the illegal migrants. But the Centre isplanning to have a National Population Register (NPR). It willcome at a later stage. This exercise may help identify theillegal migrants." PTI RTJNN02071858