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The roughly 13,000-acre island under Char Ishwar Union under the Hatia Police Station in Noakhali is now completely ready for human habitation.
The Bhasan Char has cost more than Rs 3,000 million to temporarily relocate a section of Rohingya who have fled Myanmar and taken refuge in Cox’s Bazar.
One Rohingya lakh has been provided with cooking facilities, electricity, water and sewerage, play areas and cyclone shelters, as well as opportunities to earn a living.
But due to objections from international organizations, including the United Nations, and the reluctance of the Rohingya, the government has yet to initiate the transfer.
Where are the objections of international organizations? One of the reasons for your concern is the geographical location of Bhasan Char. They say they are not sure how safe the Rohingya will be in the cyclone and tsunami on the isolated island in the middle of the sea.
They also want to know if there is any urgent humanitarian need for the Rohingya.
What steps have been taken to address this concern at Bhasan Char?
Commodore Abdullah Al Mamun Chowdhury, director of the Bhasan Char Refuge Project, says that no cyclone has crossed the island in the last 18 years. The closest was actually 36 nautical miles away.
“All kinds of arrangements have been made for the temporary shelter of one lakh of Rohingya. Coastal protection measures have been taken to protect the arrow from waves and tides. The Cox’s Bazar camp doesn’t have the facilities to stay a little better. “
What is floating char?
A group of journalists were brought to Hatiyar Island last week under the leadership of the government to see the real situation in Bhasan Char.
Those who witnessed the inhumane life of the Rohingya in the crowded Cox’s Bazar camp, after visiting the Bhasan Char administration and facilities, will admit that the project manager was not exaggerating at all.
On this 13,000-acre island, tall dams have been built about 1602 acres of land to protect against the risk of tides and swells.
Within this, 432 acres have been set aside for Rohingya housing and other facilities and 916 acres have been set aside for future expansion and afforestation of the project.
The Asrayan-3 project in Bhasan Char has mainly developed in the form of clustered houses and refuge stations in the form of clustered villages. Cluster houses and shelter stations are built four feet above the ground, with concrete blocks.
There are 12 houses in each group. Each house with a tin shed on the paved walls has 16 rooms. Each room accommodates a family of four.
By the UN standard, more than 36 square feet of area per capita is allocated for housing, the project manager said.
There is a four-story composite shelter station for each group. This refuge station is capable of withstanding cyclones at a speed of 260 km per hour.
With a total of 120 of these groups and 120 shelter stations, the Bhasan Char Shelter Project has been formed, which is officially known as Shelter-3 Project.
Each house has a separate bathroom and toilet for men and women. A separate kitchen has also been arranged. There are drainage systems for drainage. There is a central file for waste management.
In addition, there are solar panels in the canopy of each house. The house has a water supply system.
Two playgrounds for children have been built in this project. Each group house also has an open space to play.
There are orphanages, nurseries, super stores, salons, mosques, and markets. One pond has been cut in each group and several lakes and ponds in the project area.
Two 20-bed hospitals and four community clinics have been established to provide medical care to the island’s residents.
Accommodation has also been provided for government officials, UN representatives, representatives of the RRRC, Red Cross, representatives of international NGOs and law enforcement officials.
Why floating char
In recent decades, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have taken refuge in Bangladesh as victims of oppression in Myanmar. When the Myanmar army began massacring, raping and burning Rakhine villages in August 2016, Rohingya seeking asylum on the Bangladesh border flocked.
In order to provide refuge for these Rohingya, the world’s largest refugee camp has been established in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The Government of Bangladesh, with the support of several international organizations led by the United Nations, has been trying to meet the urgent needs of these citizens of Myanmar.
According to the government’s Office of Refugee Relief and Repatriation, some 870,000 Rohingya now live on some 6,500 acres of land in those camps in Cox’s Bazar.
There are between 30 and 40 thousand people living in some parts of each square kilometer. As they have to live a dignified life in this densely populated area, various social problems are being created locally with the Rohingya.
That is why the government plans to move a part of them to another place. That is why Bhasan Char was chosen on the Meghna estuary near Hatiyar.
Depopulated charcoal was formerly used as pasture for cattle and buffalo. In 2013, this char was declared a protected forest area.
Geographically, Bhasan Char is located between Sandwip and Hatiyar. It is four and a half nautical miles west of Sandwip and 13 nautical miles east of Hatia.
Ships sailing from Chittagong to various destinations in the country, including Dhaka, use the canal alongside Bhasan Char. It takes about two hours by motor boat to reach Bhasan Char from the mainland of Chittagong.
After receiving approval from ECNEC in November 2017, the implementation of the Asrayan-3 project in Bhasan Char was started through the Navy. The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, as coordinator of the project steering committee, monitored and reviewed the overall progress.
The project director said a 9-foot-high embankment has been built around the island to protect it from waves and tides from the sea, which will then rise to 19 feet.
At the same time, a coastal green belt is being built around the island to protect it from storms and tides.
The dock has been built to facilitate the transport of goods and the passage of people. Network towers of three mobile operators have been installed. As a result, there is no need to worry about communication.
Project officials hope to generate one megawatt from solar power and an additional two megawatts from oil generators to meet demand from the island’s residents.
Four warehouses have been set up to store food for three months.
A 91 foot tall lighthouse has been built to facilitate navigation along the Bhasan Char, which can provide navigation facilities up to 14 nautical miles.
There are currently 307 Rohingya in Bhasan Char, who were rescued from the waters of Bangladesh earlier this year and brought to the island.
A few days ago, a group of 40 people toured the island to show the facilities of the Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar.
When they came back, they said they liked everything. But relocation is still stalled due to objections from international organizations.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen recently told reporters that there was “pressure” on the government from UNHCR and NGOs not to send Rohingya to Bhasan Char.
Lewis Donovan, communications officer for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, told bdnews24.com by email that the delegation was speaking with the Rohingya in Bhasan Char to understand the overall situation and discuss their humanitarian needs and arrangements for security. The government of Bangladesh has also been informed.
Luis Donovan said the government had been told what conditions would be like, adding that they were still awaiting the government’s response.
In this case, the position of the United Nations is the same as ever. We have said that there should be a detailed technical assessment on the quality and quality of life of Bhasan Char before relocation. And the question of relocation of the Rohingya should be voluntary. “
Is Bhasan Char from Camp Cox’s Bazar good?
Those interested in the project say the Rohingya will have a relatively better standard of living after moving from Cox’s Bazar to Bhasan Char.
According to the Asrayan-3 project, houses made of bamboo and tarps in the Cox’s Bazar camps are at high risk of natural disasters. But the clusters that have been built on Bhasan Char are much more secure.
The Teknaf camps have a bathroom for 20 people and a bathroom for 60 people. On the other hand, Bhasan Char has a bathroom for 11 people and a bathroom for 16 people.
As Teknaf is densely populated, the water level drops day by day, there is a shortage of underground drinking water. No problem as there is plenty of drinking water in Bhasan Char.
There is no electricity in the Cox’s Bazar campgrounds. Some streets have streetlights. But most of the area is dark, so crime rates are highest at night. On the other hand, there is a proper lighting system in Bhasan Char.
Many Rohingya live in the Teknaf camps, and the lack of the necessary infrastructure makes access difficult for all. Project officials said it will not be a problem in Bhasan Char.
The Rohingya settlement in Teknaf is causing a massive loss of biodiversity, increasing air pollution, land degradation and water pollution. An imbalance is being created between nature and the environment. With the settlement in Bhasanchar, there is scope for extensive afforestation, without fear of landslides, air pollution or soil erosion.
Teknaf camps rely on wood or charcoal for cooking. But Bhasan Char has biogas and ecological stoves.
The Rohingya are often trafficked in Cox’s Bazar and used for drug smuggling. Bhasan Char is protected in all respects.
Aside from education and medical treatment, the Rohingya will have limited employment opportunities in Bhasan Char, which is not the case in Cox’s Bazar.
Although the Rohingya are not directly involved in economic activities on the island, they will be able to work on various projects undertaken by the Bangladesh Navy and the local administration.
A tour of the island reveals that buffalo farms have already sprung up on Bhasan Char, with thousands of buffalo grazing there.
Poultry, poultry, fishing and fruit and agricultural farms have been piloted in the project area under the supervision of the Navy.
Dairy farms, rice and vegetable crops, handicrafts, women’s sewing and tourism projects have also been started to boost local economic activities.
The projects also provide Rohingya with employment in exchange for wages, authorities said.
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