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Published : 20 Feb 2023, 10:32 PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sought United Nations assistance to relocate Rohingya refugees from squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar to a housing project in Bhasan Char island.
Hasina made the appeal when UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis called on her at the Ganabhaban in Dhaka on Monday, according to the state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.
“The Rohingya are currently living a congested life in their camps in Cox’s Bazar,” the prime minister’s speechwriter M Nazrul Islam quoted her as saying.
“If the Rohingya can be relocated to Bhasan Char, where accommodations for over 100,000 people have been created with livelihoods, they can lead a dignified life in a livable atmosphere.”
Rohingya children can get an education in their native language on the island, she added.
The government has spent over Tk 30 billion on providing shelter to refugees there along with access to amenities such as cooking facilities, electricity, water and sewerage systems, playgrounds and cyclone shelters.
Bangladesh has sheltered many Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds, but they are now becoming a massive burden for the country, Hasina said.
She thanked the UN for cooperation in managing the country since Rohingya took shelter here and hoped they would continue the support.
Hasina said the Rohingya are creating social problems in Cox’s Bazar as many are engaged in drugs, arms and human trafficking, and internal conflicts and militancy.
The Rohingya have become the majority in Cox’s Bazar, outnumbering the locals, said the prime minister.
Gwyn praised Bangladesh’s progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and its work to attain the Sustainable Development Goals alongside ensuring women’s empowerment and girls’ education.
“The UN had stood by Bangladesh in the past and will remain on its side in future,” she said.
