Rehabilitation work for Rohingyas going on in full swing in Bhashan Char

The rehabilitation work for relocating 100,000 of the displaced Rohingyas has been going on full swing at Bhashan Char. Bhashan Char is located 21 nautical miles from Noakhali, 11 nautical miles from Jahajir Char, 4.2 nautical miles from Sandwip, 28 nautical miles from Patenga, and 13.2 nautical miles from Hatiya. Almost 40% of constructing 1,440 houses including 120 cyclone shelters has already been completed. During a video conference held on Sunday, a senior official of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief gave a presentation. The presentation focused on the preparedness to protect the displaced Rohingyas, from possible cyclone, mudslide and rushing downhill water during next monsoon. Prime minister's Principal Secretary Nojibur Rahman presided over the video conference where Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Md Abdul Mannan and Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Md Kamal Hossain were connected.The aim of the Bhashan Char rehabilitation project is to make the island environment habitable for people. Bangladesh Navy has been tasked with the rehabilitation efforts. Each of the total 1,440 houses under construction will be four feet high from the ground, in order to protect the refugees from the high tidal waves. The process to construct 120 cyclone shelters in Bhashan Char is also underway. The ground floor of the cyclone shelters is four feet above the ground and the first floor is 10 feet above the ground floor. As a result, the refugees on the first floor of the shelters should be safe from tidal surges with a height of 14 feet. Construction work of a 13km flood defence embankment is in progress on the island to shield it from tidal surges, with a height of three metres and width of 37 metres on a layer by layer basis. The construction work is likely to be completed within the next rainy season. Moreover, construction work of a 2.1-km long shore protection is also in the process. Work for other establishments including security houses and administrative building is also on-going. Apart from these, process is underway for purchasing and manufacturing necessary water vehicles to rescue the people inhabiting the island during any natural calamity. Bhashan Char is located 21 nautical miles from Noakhali, 11 nautical miles from Jahajir Char, 4.2 nautical miles from Sandwip, 28 nautical miles from Patenga, and 13.2 nautical miles from Hatiya Dhaka Tribune 

Rohingya families at grave risk of landslide and flood

Nearly 1,33,649 Rohingyas of 31,441 families are at risk of landslide, while 69,351 Rohingyas of 16,375 families are susceptible to flood risks. Of them, some 50,000 Rohingyas have already been relocated to safer places. About 123 acres of land on the north-west side of Kutupalong extension camp under Ukhiya upazila have already been selected as a safe location for relocating the Rohingyas who are at risk. Meanwhile, 30 acres of land have been developed for constructing the shelters. Some more Rohingyas at greater risks of landslide and flood will be shifted to safer places by March 31. Tens of thousands of displaced Rohingyas are now staying at the highly congested makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazar. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in an interview with Voice of America last September, revealed that the displaced refugees will be rehabilitated in Bhashan Char, until they could return to their homeland in Rakhine state in Myanmar. According to Chittagong Divisional Commissioner’s office, as many as 6,92,437 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh as of March 12 of this year after a brutal Myanmar army crackdown began on August 25 last year.