The issue of infiltration has returned to haunt the Bangladeshi settlers in Orissa's Kendrapara district after nearly two and half years following a directive of the Centre to launch a special drive for fresh enumeration of infiltrators along the district's coastal belt.

Even though unofficial estimates put the number of Bangladeshi settlers at over 50,000, hardly 1,677 of them have settled in the district unlawfully if the official figures are to be believed.

Apart from 1,551 foreigners in Mahakalapada, there were 126 others officially detected to be residing in Rajnagar (30) and Pattamundai (96) areas of the district.

"The enumeration of Bangladeshi nationals will commence once the state home department asks us to go ahead," district collector Kashinath Sahu said.

When the enumeration is taken up again, care would be taken to ensure that mistakes, which had crept in during the enumeration exercise undertaken in 2001, were not repeated again, officials said.

Emphasis was being laid on keeping the fresh enumeration free from discrepancies and inaccuracies so that bonafide settlers did not figure in the list of infiltrators.

"We will be bound by central guidelines and provisions of the Foreigners' Act. Those Bangladesh nationals who infiltrated on or after February 25, 1971 will find their names in the list," the sources said.

The issue of infiltration had receded to the background after there was widespread opposition to the January 15, 2005 move to deport 1551 illegal Bangaldeshi settlers from the Mahakalapada tehsil of the district.

Political forces and human rights activists had rallied behind the Bangladeshi settlers after they were served the 'Quit India' notice in accordance with the Foreigners' Act.

But the entire exercise never took off.

Even Bharatiya Janata Party, despite being passionate about the issue of infiltration, threw its weight behind the settlers saying they could not be thrown out of the country as they were Hindus.

Besides, glaring discrepancies in the enumeration stood in the way as even dead persons were served with the 'Quit India' notices in some cases.

Names of three persons, who had died long ago, figured in the list of 1551 infiltrators thereby reducing the number to 1548.

There were also bizarre instances of people claiming to be bonafide Indian citizens and in some cases government employees, being asked to quit the country. All this subsequently combined to stall the deportation exercise.