Rohingya crisis prompts govt to speed up development projects in Cox’s Bazar

The government has decided to scale up the monitoring of development works in Cox’s Bazar to ensure improved transportation and healthcare facilities at the Rohingya makeshift camps within the shortest possible time. The Local Government Division (LGD) has already issued letters to Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) asking for the latest progress reports on the work orders implementation in the area. The government has taken the initiatives in the face of allegations over mismanagement in the Rohingya camps located at Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas in Cox’s Bazar. According to Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG), a humanitarian data exchange portal led by International Organization for Migration (IOM), some 6,03,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh from August 25 to October 21 this year. Of them, only 3,08,557 have been brought under healthcare services till date while the rest are still inaccessible mostly due to the poor infrastructure and lack of manpower. The NGOs working there claimed that the hurdle in reaching the refugees has been worsening the healthcare services for refugees which could eventually result in a spread of epidemics at the makeshift camps. When contacted, LGD Secretary Abdul Malek said his division has been relentlessly working for smooth distribution of relief materials and provision of better healthcare services to the refugees since the very beginning of the crisis. He also told the Dhaka Tribune that a deputy secretary has been appointed as the key person for the execution of the latest development initiatives in Cox’s Bazar. “Some 50 DPHE engineers have been working to ensure safe water and adequate sanitation in the camps while four LGED engineers are monitoring road constructions,” the secretary added. An LGD source said the work progress in the area was not getting pace as anticipated. Thereby, a notice, signed by Deputy Secretary Khairul Islam was issued last week asking the respective engineers to send their progress reports to LGD on an emergency basis.