With repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar still uncertain, a delegation of Rohingyas is being sent to Bhashan Char on Saturday to inspect the facilities of the residential project there which was built at a cost of Tk 3000 crore by the Bangladesh Government.
The 40-member delegation consisting, community leaders of Rohingya refugee camps and Imam of Mosques in camps will reach Bhashan Char under supervision of the Armed Forces Division.
MahabubulAlamTalukder, Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner RRRC told, the delegation will stay there for at least three days, to visit the residential shelter project and other facilities provided by Bangladesh Government.
“The visit is mainly to motivate the Rohingyas” he said, adding that “the members of the delegation will be able to see the facilities there and present it to the Rohingyas.”
Bhashan Char is a newly risen island in the Bay of Bengal in which a safe residential shelter was built for about 100,000 people, ensuring all kinds of facilities.
The facilities are metal-roofed, brick buildings raised on pylons and fitted with solar panels. There are 1,440 blocks, each housing 16 families in 120 plots.
Each family unit has a 12-foot by 14-foot room. Kitchens and bathrooms will be shared. The government was building 12 cyclone shelters on the island.
A 13-km flood-defense embankment is also there.
The Rohingyas are not being relocated there due to objections from the Rohingyas and international aid agencies.
Aid agencies including The United Nations agencies were deeply concerned about plans announced by the government of Bangladesh to begin relocating Rohingya refugees to Bhashan Char, an isolated island more than 30 miles off the coast of Bangladesh.
The questions about safety and voluntary relocation were not confirmed yet.
But officials of Bangladesh Government said, all safety measures have been ensured and the relocation should be voluntary as repatriation in Myanmar is still uncertain.
In Bashan Char Island, the Rohingyas will have the opportunity to go for fish, poultry and livestock production.
Already, 120 ponds and two large water reservoirs are made ready so that the Rohingyas there can earn a living. Officials said, the refugees in Bhashan Char will get a new life.
Currently, there are 303 Rohingyas living in Bhashan Char who were rescued in the Bay of Bengal by the law enforcement agencies while being trafficked to Malaysia from the Cox's Bazar camps.
On behalf of the Bangladesh government, the Bangladesh Navy is providing them with the necessary facilities like food and medical care.
The Bhashan Char Shelter was safe when the Cyclone Ampan hit the Bangladesh coast last Mayas tidal water could not enter the settlement areas.
For years more than one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are living in the world's largest refugee camp and other camps Cox's Bazar.
The Rohingyas are suffering from various diseases in the densely populated crammed camps. In addition, various types of criminal gangs are gradually gaining influence there.
That is why the government has decided to send some Rohingyas to Bhashan Char for accommodation.
After the delegation returns to Cox's Bazar from Bhashan Char, their views will be taken. Hopefully, upon getting opinions of the delegation members, the Rohingyas in the camps will become interested to go to Bhashan Char, said RRRC MahabuburAlamTalukdar.
The Rohingya delegation will first come to Chattogram by road from Cox's Bazar. From there they will be sent to Bhashan Char on Saturday by a naval ship.
At the end of the visit they will return to Cox's Bazar by the same route.
