Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusan has today kicked off 'Operation Kurangi', a national-level multi-agency lead operation to gain 100 percent biometrically confirmed accountability of migrant workers in Maldives.
The Minister kicked off the operation at a ceremony held in Kaafu Himmafushi earlier today.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Ihusan said that 'Operation Kurangi' was a three-year operation carried out to bring a permanent end to the problem of illegal migrants. He said that today, the first stage of the operation has begun with the ambition of completing it in one year.
He said that during this one year, the government aims to bring in all the illegal migrants into the expatriate workers legal system. He noted that the ministry would collect fingerprint information as well as photographic data to verify the identity of the workers.
The Minister said the operation is not being carried out to detain illegal migrants and deport them. He said right now the full focus of the operation was to confirm the identity and legal status of the migrants working and living in the Maldives.
He urged migrant workers to come forward and check their legal status once the operation reaches the island where they are currently working or living.
The former MNDF captain confirmed that the government plans to collect all the biometric data and give the island councils access to the metadata for them to keep track of the migrants working on the islands.
