|
Part 5
REFUGEE PROBLEM.
14. Besides the troops evacuated from Burma, India had to deal with some 400,000 civilian refugees from Burma in varying states of distress. Some came by sea from Akyaib, before it fell into Japanese hands; large numbers came through Imphal; and others by the Hukawng valley route to Ledo. The arrangements to feed and transport these numbers presented a very serious problem, while from the security aspect it was necessary to set up some organisation to try and prevent the infiltration of enemy agents. The arrangements for the reception of refugees were placed by the Indian Government under Major-General E. Wood, who received invaluable assistance from the organisation controlled by the Indian Tea Association. The Imphal route, by which the majority of the 180,000 refugees entered Assam, was comparatively easy; but the route up to the Hukawng valley from Myitkyina by Maingkwan and Shingbwiyang to Ledo was from Shingbwiyang onwards only a difficult mountain track with several rivers to cross. After the rains began, mud and swollen rivers made this route practically impassable from end of May onwards, and a number of the refugees were marooned at Shingbwiyang for the monsoon period, having to be fed by air; while some perished in the attempt to get through. Other parties who attempted to reach Ledo from Fort Hertz via the Chaukan pass were only rescued with considerable difficulty.
|
