Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said no Rohingyas will be sent to Bhashan Char forcibly. “As per the order of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we will not send the Rohingya refugees to Bhashan Char forcibly,” he said. He came up with this statement while talking to the executive committee members of Diplomatic Correspondents’ Association, Bangladesh at his office in the city.
Bhashan Char, an uninhabited island in Noakhali is being developed by the government for the relocation of ousted Rohingyas from their homeland in the Rakhaine state of Myanmar. He also warned that stern action will be taken against those who will try to bar the Rohingya repatriation process.
By the government’s plan, 103,200 Rohingyas out of more than a million currently sheltered in the cramped camps of Cox's Bazar will be moved to Bhashan Char under a project with an estimated cost of over Tk 2,312 crore. The project, which is scheduled to be completed this year, is being implemented by the Bangladesh Navy.
Bhashan Char, also known as Thengar Char, is located 21 nautical miles from Noakhali, 11 nautical miles from Jahajir Char, 4.2 nautical miles from Sandwip, 28 nautical miles from Patenga, and 13.2 nautical miles from Hatia. The only mode of commute for residents of Bhasan Char, located 30km away from the mainland, will be vessels that take three to three-and-a-half hours to travel from Hatia.