The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has asked the authorities concerned to shift the two lakh displaced Myanmar citizens, known as Rohingyas, from different hilly areas to safe places in Cox’s Bazar before the beginning of the rainy season. Altogether 2,03,000 Rohingyas constituting 95,632 families are currently staying in different hilly areas and face the risks of landslides and cyclones, sources in the PMO and the disaster management ministry say. The PMO gave the directive at an inter-ministerial meeting held recently with the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Nazibur Rahman, in the chair. The PM’s principal secretary gave 12-point directives to the authorities including the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC), Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Cox’s Bazar, disaster management ministry, Armed Forces Division and the Bangladesh Navy to take immediate steps for the safety of the Rogingyas.

In the meeting, the RRRC informed that out of 2,03,000 Rohingyas, 1,33,649 were under the risk of landslides

and 69,351 faced flood threat at the temporary camps in the area and all of them needed to be shifted to the safer places.

In view of the risks, the authorities concerned have identified the 2,03,000 Rohingyas under four risk-categories—unstable, critically unstable, nearly unstable, and relatively unstable—for shifting them from the temporary shelters in the hills to the safer places on a priority basis.

The DC of Cox’s Bazar said that another 123 acres of land had been identified on the north-western side of the Kutupalong extension camp to shift the Rohingyas.

In the meeting, the RRRC and the DC informed that the Rogingyas were reluctant to move to more secure places and, hence, awareness programmes mentioning the risks should be launched to convince them to shift from the temporary shelters in the hilly areas.

The 12-point directives, decided by the meeting, include:

The preparation of a documentary on the risks and motivational brief for building awareness among the Rohingyas about the possible risks at the temporary camps to make them agree to shift to safe places.

A framework has to be prepared for non-government organizations (NGO) working on Rohingyas to ensure they are not involved in any controversial activities.

The authorities concerned should inform the international community about the ongoing Bhashan Char Shelter Project-3.

Employment should be created for the Rohingyas once they are shifted to Bhashan Char.

Volunteer teams, comprising the local people, Rohingyas, and NGOs, should be trained to face any natural calamity.

Talking to The Independent, RRRC commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam said they had started preparing new places to shift the Rohingyas to keep them safe from landslides and cyclones during the rainy season.

“More than 10 lakh Rohingyas have built temporary shelters at different places, including the slopes of the hills at Ukhiya and Teknaf under Cox’s Bazar, from August 25 last year.”

Among them, at least two lakh Rohingyas are staying in places having a high risk of landslides and cyclones during heavy rainfall or earthquakes,” he added.

In November last year, the government had approved a US$ 280 million project to develop Bhashan Char Shelter Project-3 known as Thenger Char to shift Rohingyas from Cox’s Bazar.

Sources said, on February 23, a Rohingya boy was killed in a landslide while he was playing on a hill slope.

According to sources, the Rohingyas, accommodated on 3,500 acres in Kutupalong and Balukhali, are erecting barriers to keep off wild elephants. So far, 13 people, including 12 Rohingyas, have been killed in five attacks by wild elephants.

A UN report says that more than 100,000 Rohingya refugees, huddled in muddy camps in Bangladesh, will be in grave danger from landslides once the mid-year rainy season begins.

“A high percentage of the land is unsuitable for human settlement as risks of flooding and landslides are high and are further aggravated by the congestion and extensive terracing of the hills,” it adds.

“Humanitarian partners are now building necessary infrastructure in challenging conditions, with extremely limited space,” the report states.

More than 100 hills are being used by the refugees for temporary accommodation in Kutipalong, Palingkhali, Unchipara and other locations along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

At least 7,00,000 Rohingyas have fled into Bangladesh after a military crackdown began in the Rakhine State of Myanmar on August 25 last year.