550 more Rohingyas leaves Ukhia camps for Bhasan Char

In the eighth phase of relocation, some 550 more Rohingya refugees from Ukhia camps in Cox's Bazar have left for Bhasan Char.

On Friday,15 buses of Rohingyas departed the transit point at Ukhia Degree College in two shifts to the Naval Jetty in Chattogram.

Covered vans carrying goods and products and the required convoys of security personnel were also en route to Chattogram till evening.

This is the second time Rohingyas are being relocated to the southern island since the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UNHCR for refugee management in Bhasan Char

Earlier, on 24 November, 379 Rohingyas left Ukhia camps in the seventh phase and reached Bhasan Char the next day.

The relocation process has been suspended since last April owing to inclement sea weather in the monsoon season.

Referring to the government decision to relocate 1 lakh Rohingyas to Bhasan Char, Cox's Bazar Relief and Refugee Repatriation Commissioner, Shah Rezwan Hayat, said nobody is being forced to relocate to the island.

"Only those who are willingly agreeing to relocate after learning about the facilities there, are being taken to the island."

The relocation process will continue until the one lakh target is met, added Shah Rezwan.

Since December last year, around 20,000 Rohingyas have been taken to Bhasanchar in eight phases.

306 more Rohingyas were taken to the island after being rescued while trying to enter Malaysia illegally in May last year.

In August 2017, several lakhs of Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh in the face of carnage and persecution by the Myanmar military.

A total of 11 lakh Rohingyas including those who arrived earlier have currently been residing in various camps in Cox's Bazar.

The government undertook a project in November 2017 to relocate 1 lakh Rohingyas to Bhasan Char and the Bangladesh Navy was given the responsibility to implement the project called Ashrayan-3. 

According to official data, the Bhasanchar Asylum Project was implemented at a cost of Tk3,095 crore from the government's own funds for the relocation of Rohingyas under the supervision of the Navy.

An infrastructure of 120 cluster villages suitable for one lakh Rohingyas has been built on 13,000 acres in Bhasan Char.

The Bangladesh Navy is responsible for the implementation and management of the entire housing project in Bhasan Char.