The Dhaka Tribune takes an exclusive look at how the
Rohingya resettlement project is progressing at Bhasan Char in the Bay of
Bengal
Bangladesh plans to relocate thousands of Rohingyas, who
were forcefully driven away from their own land by the Myanmar army, to the
remote Bhasan Char.
Visible development in terms of construction could be
seen during a recent visit to Bhasan Char, previously known as Thengar Char,
which emerged only 20 years ago at the mouth of the Meghna River.
Bhasan Char is located around 25 kilometres away from the
Hatiya upazila of Noakhali and 50 kilometres from the Subarno Char upazila. The
16,000-acre island was once used as a shelter by pirates.
It usually takes around two and a half hours to reach
Bhasan Char by boat from the Nolchira terminal of Hatiya upazila.
The journey started with a hired engine-run boat from
Nolchira boat terminal of Hatiya around 9am and ended at Bhasan Char around
12:30pm. Before the start of the journey, this correspondent had contacted
officials of a construction firm and convinced them to take him to Bhasan Char.
When the boat reached the island, hundreds of water
vessels carrying construction materials were seen in the area. Workers were
busy unloading these materials. After
entering Bhasan Char, this correspondent also found trucks and Lorries carrying
bricks and stones. Excavators were seen piling up mud for the construction of
the embankment. Roads have been built across the char area and several officer
cadets of the Bangladesh Navy were seen roaming the construction site on bikes.
The navy has built a cluster pilot building on the char
as a demo project. Construction firms are using the demo as a model.
A shopkeeper, requesting anonymity, said: “We have heard
a Rohingya family was sheltered around the pilot project area and received all
facilities including access to navy doctors.”
During the visit, this correspondent also found an aged
person collecting medicine from a shop with a prescription signed by a navy
doctor.
According to sources, a total of 1,440 buildings will be
built in the area to shelter Rohingya refugees. Each of the buildings will
house 54 families, although Reuters reported that each building would house 16
families. Each family unit will have a 12-by-14 sq-ft room. Kitchens and
toilets will be shared. There will be eight toilets in each building.
Babul Akter, a construction worker from Gaibandha, said a
labour agent hired him at Tk450 for eight hours but he tends to work for around
18 hours a day as there is tremendous pressure to finish construction on time.
A Chinese company named Sinohydro is constructing a
13-kilometre flood defence embankment at the cost of $280 million.
During the visit, this correspondent found a Sinohydro
engineer monitoring work on the construction site while accompanied by a navy
official.
However, none of the officials agreed to comment on the
construction of the embankment and the Chinese company.
A navy official said he knew nothing about the agreement
between Bangladesh and the Chinese construction firm as it happened secretly.
He also said that the engineering corps of the Bangladesh
Navy is monitoring the construction work which includes land development and
construction of the embankment.
Requesting anonymity, an engineer of a private
construction firm told the Dhaka Tribune that around 6,000 workers in 30
projects are working day and night.
He said they hope to complete their project within two
months. He hopes Rohingya people can live there within six months.
According to sources, the navy has already built a
helipad, jetty for naval vessels, and rest rooms for navel officials.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a press conference on
February 19 said all Rohingyas would be relocated to Bhasan Char.