Orissa to deport 4,000 Bangladeshi migrants

bhubaneswar: orissa government is likely to deport more than 4,000 bangladeshi illegal migrants, recently identified by the law enforcement agencies, sources in the state government said. legal provisions would be adhered by the government agencies concerned while deporting them, the sources said. the bangladeshi migrants are at present living in coastal districts of jagatsinghpur and kendrapara, identified by a joint drive by police and revenue department officials after a union home ministry directive.most immigrants made their way into orissa in early 90s and settled in villages along the bay of bengal without valid documents to corroborate their acquiring indian nationality, sources said. "their identity has been kept confidential to facilitate deportation," a senior government official said, and added that enumerators were doubtful about the nationality of over 3,000 residents living in the two districts. there were many bangladeshi muslim migrants in coastal orissa, which extends from chandbali to the puri coast. but in the last twoand-a-half decades, they had also settled in large numbers in jagatsinghpur, bhadrak, cuttack and kendrapada districts. it is rep orted that some of them have settled in bhubaneswar. according to a recent survey by the law enforcement a immigrants have so far been identified in paradip and ersama block, worst hit by the 1999 super cyclone. in rajnagar block alone their number is 2,322 while neighbouring mahakalpada block has 1,767 such persons in seven gram panchayats. those who have lawfully settled in coastal orissa under refugee rehabilitation scheme of the union government were found to have encouraged immigration, sources said.the areas where they have settled were once covered with rich mangrove forests but their unabated intrusion has led to their depletion. police sources said intelligence and vigil has been beefed up in these areas in view of the fresh threat of immigration. orissa police has been keeping close watch over the bangladeshi settlers, mostly muslims, for over a year, but yet to get any evidence to established their links with isi agents.