Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Shah Rezwan Hayat has called on NGOs working for refugees to encourage Rohingya refugees to go to Bhasan Char.   He made the call while visiting two Rohingya camps (Camp 21 and 22) at Teknaf upazila in Cox’s Bazar district recently. During his visit, he went around the Bhaban of the Armed Police Battalion (APBN). Besides, he planted a sapling of Arabian jasmine flower in the office premises of camp-in-charge. Shadhona Tripura, in-charge of Camp No. 21, Rahul Chanda, Assistant Secretary of RRRC’s Office in Cox’s Bazar and Executive Magistrate, and others were present during the visit of Shah Rezwan Hayat. The RRRC exchanged views with BRAC employees at BRAC’s WASH programme office at Camp No. 21 and appreciated different activities taken up under WASH, Shelter and Education Programmes of BRAC. Also read: IOM ramps up health response as 2nd wave of COVID-19 hits Cox’s Bazar Addressing the occasion, Shah Rezwan Hayat called upon officials of different NGOs, which are working for Rohingyas, to persuade the refugees, who are now sheltered at different camps in Cox’s Bazar, to go to Bhasan Char.      Shah Rezwan Hayat said more Rohingyas in another phase would be sent to Bhasan Char in September. "The UN High Commissioner on Refugee informed me that he would formally visit Bhasan Char”.     "We have to take effective steps so that none can capture the houses, to be vacated by Rohingyas after going to Bhasan Char. Besides, we have to be careful so that no shelter camp is built again by cutting hills, he said.   Shah Rezwan Hayat called on all concerned to take necessary steps so that the local people (host community) can use the compost, which is made of perishable goods at the refugee camps. Md. Afsar Ali, Project Manager of WASH Programme under Humanitarian Crisis Management Programme (HCMP) of BRAC; Md. Abdus Salam, Senior Branch Manager of HCMP’s Palongkhali; and others were present on behalf of BRAC. Also read: Preparedness strengthened ahead of cyclone, monsoon season in Cox's Bazar: IOM Tanmoy Das, Coordinator of Camp-21 of BRAC, made a brief presentation on WASH programme. Md. Shamim Ahmed, BRAC’s Camp Assistant Technical (Shelter) Specialist, made another presentation on shelter activities. Also read: Seven Rohingyas held along Benapole border

More Rohingyas are being relocated to the Bhasan Char island in the sixth phase. On the second day of the sixth phase, more than 1,700 Rohingyas were taken to Chattogram from the camps in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday. Cox's Bazar Additional Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Shamsuddauja Nayan said that 1,716 Rohingya men, women and children left for Chittagong on 25 buses in the morning and at noon. Also read: Don’t worry about Rohingya relocation to Bhasan Char: Dhaka to UNHCR Rohingyas willing to go to Bhasan Char were brought to the temporary transit point at Ukhiya Degree College ground and given necessary items including food, water and medicine. They would be taken to Noakhali’s Bhasan Char from Chattogram’s Patenga under the Navy’s management. Also read: Don't undermine, misinterpret genuine efforts: Dhaka on Rohingya relocation Earlier, on March 30, the first day of the sixth phase, 2,495 Rohingyas reached Chattogram for Bhasan Char. In five previous phases, over 14,000 Rohingyas were shifted to Bhasan Char from the camps in Cox's Bazar.

About 2,500 Rohingyas are being relocated from the camps in Cox’s Bazar to Bhasan Char island in the 6th phase. Cox's Bazar Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Shah Rezwan Hayat said 47 buses carrying the Rohingyas have reached Chattogram. Rohingyas willing to go to Bhasan Char were brought to the temporary transit point at Ukhiya Degree College ground and given necessary items including food, water and medicine. Rohingya Majhis (leaders) said many forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals are now willing to move to Bhasan Char after learning about the facilities and quality of life there. Also read: Rohingya relocation: 1,778 more heading towards Bhasan Char Cox's Bazar Additional RRRC Shamsuddoza Nayan said the Rohingyas would be taken to Bhasan Char from Patenga under the Navy’s management on Wednesday. In five phases, over 14,000 Rohingyas were shifted to Bhasan Char. Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in camps in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char. Most of them came here since August 25, 2017 when the Myanmar military launched a brutal offensive targeting the mainly-Muslim ethnic minority. Where is Bhasan Char? It surfaced 20 years ago 34 kilometres off the mainland and was never inhabited. 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 the extreme congestion in Cox’s Bazar camps and to avert any untoward incident. Also read: Don’t worry about Rohingya relocation to Bhasan Char: Dhaka to UNHCR Contractors say the island’s infrastructure is like a modern township. A police station was also set up there recently. Who are the Rohingyas? The Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. Members of this ethnic minority are denied citizenship by Myanmar and many are forced to live in squalid camps in apartheid-like condition. State-sponsored discrimination against the Rohingyas stretches decades back. Also read: Don't undermine, misinterpret genuine efforts: Dhaka on Rohingya relocation Rohingya crisis and Bangladesh Bangladesh has long been urging the global community to take effective steps to put pressure on Myanmar to create a congenial atmosphere for Rohingya repatriation but there has been little progress so far. The presence of the huge number of Rohingya refugees in the coastal district has put them on a collision course with the locals. Many Rohingyas have allegedly got involved in various criminal activities.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) opened  two new Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Isolation and Treatment Centers (SARI ITC) for the host community members and Rohingya population in both Teknaf and Ukhia upazilas.