Rohingyas ‘under surveillance’

Intelligence and the law enforcement agencies are maintaining surveillances over Rohingyas who have entered different parts of Cox’s Bazar from Myanmar to maintain law and order in connection with the refugee crisis. Additional police forces have been deployed in this connection.

Already, the Cox’s Bazar district administration has written to the home ministry, seeking the setting up of a police-camp at Balukhali, near the ‘temporary shelter for Rohingyas’.

The Cox’s Bazar district administration has allocated about 2,000 acres forest department land to provide temporary shelter, secured by barbed-wire fences, for the Rogingyas on humanitarian ground.

The Rohingya people, with the help of the local people and the Cox’s Bazar district administration, are making ‘makeshift houses’ at Balukhali to stay there.

Additional district magistrate (ADM) of Cox’s Bazar Khaled Mahmud told The Independent that they were trying to gather all the Rohingyas, who had entered Bangladesh from Myanmar, in the Balukhali area to prevent them from spreading to other places in the country.

“We are providing necessary food, medical care and other logistic support. We are setting up tube wells to provide drinking water and creating sanitation facilities for them,” he said.

“Along with the international bodies, we are providing cooked food and dry food to them,” he added.

Khaled Mahmud informed that they had deployed additional police forces in and around the temporary camps to closely monitor the Rohingyas so that did not fan out to other places.

The ADM also said the administration would start providing bio-metric identity cards from Monday as a security measure so that the refugees unable to go away from their camps.

“The employees from the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP) will reach Cox’s Bazar on Sunday with cameras and other devices to make biometric ID cards for them,” he added.

“We will start biometric enrolment from 17 points of the camp at a time to provide ID cards to the Rohingyas,” Khaled Mahmud said.

The authorities, including the ministries of home, finance, disaster management and food, allocated funds and other materials to give food and other support to the Rohingyas after being instructed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday.

The intelligence agencies were keeping a watch on the Rohingyas to ensure they did not get involved in any criminal activities or were used by people with vested interest.

Additional Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) unit Monirul Islam said that they were on the alert against anyone trying to exploit the Rohingya issue to fuel insurgency.

“This is because vested quarters may create instability in the county and militants may be active again taking advantage of the issue,” he said.

“We are alert about the Rohingyas to prevent militants being revived,” he added.

It is estimated that over three lakh Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh over the past two weeks, according to the UN refugee agency on Friday.

There are about five lakh Rogingyas staying in different areas, especially in Cox’s Bazar and its adjacent areas in the country.

Currently, as many as 35,329 Rohingyas are living in registered Rohingya camps in Bangladesh—at Nayapara in Teknaf, Kutupalong in Ukhiya and Leda in Teknaf—and they are not willing to go back, sources in the relief and the disaster management ministry said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged world leaders to mount pressure the Myanmar government to take back their nationals who entered Bangladesh.

Rohingyas under surveillance

Intelligence and the law enforcement agencies are maintaining surveillances over Rohingyas who have entered different parts of Coxs Bazar from Myanmar to maintain law and order in connection with the refugee crisis. Additional police forces have been deployed in this connection. Already, the Coxs Bazar district administration has written to the home ministry, seeking the setting up of a police-camp at Balukhali, near the temporary shelter for Rohingyas. The Coxs Bazar district administration has allocated about 2,000 acres forest department land to provide temporary shelter, secured by barbed-wire fences, for the Rogingyas on humanitarian ground. The Rohingya people, with the help of the local people and the Coxs Bazar district administration, are making makeshift houses at Balukhali to stay there. Additional district magistrate (ADM) of Coxs Bazar Khaled Mahmud told The Independent that they were trying to gather all the Rohingyas, who had entered Bangladesh from Myanmar, in the Balukhali area to prevent them from spreading to other places in the country. We are providing necessary food, medical care and other logistic support. We are setting up tube wells to provide drinking water and creating sanitation facilities for them, he said. Along with the international bodies, we are providing cooked food and dry food to them, he added. Khaled Mahmud informed that they had deployed additional police forces in and around the temporary camps to closely monitor the Rohingyas so that did not fan out to other places. The ADM also said the administration would start providing bio-metric identity cards from Monday as a security measure so that the refugees unable to go away from their camps. The employees from the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP) will reach Coxs Bazar on Sunday with cameras and other devices to make biometric ID cards for them, he added. We will start biometric enrolment from 17 points of the camp at a time to provide ID cards to the Rohingyas, Khaled Mahmud said. The authorities, including the ministries of home, finance, disaster management and food, allocated funds and other materials to give food and other support to the Rohingyas after being instructed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday. The intelligence agencies were keeping a watch on the Rohingyas to ensure they did not get involved in any criminal activities or were used by people with vested interest. Additional Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) unit Monirul Islam said that they were on the alert against anyone trying to exploit the Rohingya issue to fuel insurgency. This is because vested quarters may create instability in the county and militants may be active again taking advantage of the issue, he said. We are alert about the Rohingyas to prevent militants being revived, he added. It is estimated that over three lakh Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh over the past two weeks, according to the UN refugee agency on Friday. There are about five lakh Rogingyas staying in different areas, especially in Coxs Bazar and its adjacent areas in the country. Currently, as many as 35,329 Rohingyas are living in registered Rohingya camps in Bangladeshat Nayapara in Teknaf, Kutupalong in Ukhiya and Leda in Teknafand they are not willing to go back, sources in the relief and the disaster management ministry said. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged world leaders to mount pressure the Myanmar government to take back their nationals who entered Bangladesh.