Four ships with over 1400 more Rohingya leave for Bhasan Char

Four ships carrying 1,464 Rohingya left Chattogram for Bhasan Char in Noakhali on Saturday as part of third phase of the government’s initiative to shift 100,000 forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to the island.

The vessels departed Chattogram Boat Club around 9:30am and were set to arrive in the Bhasan Char around 1:00pm.

Earlier, on Friday, a total of 1,778 Rohingya were relocated to the island. Rohingya woman Sumayia Akter said, “Earlier we lived in shanties. Here we have concrete house. Hopefully, life will be better here.”

So far, 5,224 Rohingya have willingly shifted to the island that provides a much better living condition compared to the cramped camps in the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar.

Bangladesh, one of the most densely-populated countries in the world, is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas. The majority of them came here since 25 August 2017 fleeing persecution in their homeland, Rakhine state of Myanmar.

News agency UNB adds: Foreign minister AK Momen has said the Rohingya population will pose a serious security threat to the entire region if they are not sent back to their homeland as soon as possible.

Currently, they stay in makeshift cramped camps in Cox’s Bazar.

The government spent millions of dollars to develop the river island of Bhasan Char and plans to relocate 100,000 Rohingyas there in phases in the face of growing concerns over the extreme congestion in Cox’s Bazar camps and to avert any risk of death due to landslides and other unwarranted incidents.