Hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas is becoming a big burden, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told Asian News International (ANI) ahead of her four-day state visit to India.
“India is a vast country, you can accommodate,” she added.
The Bangladesh prime minister said that her government had tried to take care of the displaced community, keeping the humanitarian aspect in mind.
“…On humanitarian grounds, we give them shelter and provided everything. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we also vaccinated all the Rohingyas. But how long will they stay here? The camps have a negative impact on the environment… Some are engaged in drug trafficking, armed conflicts, and human trafficking,” she said.
She noted that day by day by day the crimes are increasing.
“The sooner they return home, the better for our country and also for Myanmar. We have been trying our best to pursue them, we’re discussing with them and also the international community, like Asean and UN,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina added.
Later, the prime minister said resolving the Teesta River water sharing issue mainly depends on India.
"It's (Teesta) a long-standing problem. So, it should be solved. But it depends mainly on India," she told the multimedia news agency - The full version of the interview will be telecast on Sunday morning with text stories.
A 37-second teaser of the interview was put on ANI's Twitter account on Saturday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina later recalled her meeting with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in March last year and reiterated Bangladesh’s long-pending request for concluding the interim agreement on sharing the waters of the Teesta River.
#WATCH via ANI Multimedia | Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina‘s interview to ANI https://t.co/tinJufQTaX
— ANI (@ANI) September 4, 2022
She underscored that to alleviate the sufferings and save the livelihoods of millions of people dependent on the Teesta River basin, it is necessary that Bangladesh receives its fair share of the Teesta waters - the draft agreement of which has already been agreed upon by both governments in January 2011, according to the 2021 joint statement.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India’s “sincere commitment and continued efforts” to conclude this agreement, in consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
Responding to a question on Hindu temples’ vandalism, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told ANI these incidents sometimes take place. “But we immediately take action against them."
At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Bangladesh counterpart Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will pay a visit to New Delhi from September 5-8.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit India after three years since she last visited in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.
