Another Batch of Rohingyas on Way to Bhasan Char

The fourth batch of Rohingyas is being taken to Bhasan Char as part of the government's initiative to shift 100,000 of Myanmar's displaced nationals to the island of the river.

Four ships of Bangladesh Navy carrying 1,464 Rohingyas left port of Chattogram to Bhasan Char in Noakhali at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, sources said.

Earlier on Friday, another 1778 Rohingyas reached Bhasan Char.

So far, 5,224 Rohingya have willingly shifted to the island that provides a much better living condition compared to the cramped camps in the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar.

Where is Bhasan Char?

Located 34 kilometers from the mainland, the island surfaced 20 years ago and was never inhabited.

Contractors say that its infrastructure is like a modern township, with multi-family concrete homes, schools, playgrounds, and roads. It also has solar power plants, a water supply system and cyclone shelters.

The island has all the modern amenities and recently a police station has been set up. A police station has recently been inaugurated on the island to ensure law and order.

Bangladesh spent millions of dollars to develop Bhasan Char and plans to relocate 100,000 Rohingyas there in phases in the face of growing concerns over extreme congestion in Cox's Bazar camps and to avoid any risk of death from landslides and other unwarranted incidents.

Who are the Rohingyas?

The Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.

Members of the mainly-Muslim majority ethnic minority are denied citizenship by Myanmar and many are forced to live in squalid camps in apartheid-like conditions.

State-sponsored discrimination against the Rohingyas stretches decades back.

Rohingya crisis and Bangladesh

Bangladesh, one of the world's most heavily populated countries, currently hosts over 1.1 million Rohingyas. After August 2017, most of them have come here to escape persecution in their homeland of the Rakhine State in Myanmar.

Bangladesh has been urging the global community to take concrete measures to persuade Myanmar to create a peaceful environment for the repatriation of Rohingya, but little progress has been made to date.

They have been put on a collision course with the locals by the presence of a large number of Rohingyas in the coastal district. Several Rohingyas have engaged in various illegal activities.

Foreign Minister AK Momen has said the Rohingya population will pose a serious security threat to the entire region if they are not sent back to their homeland as soon as possible.