Rohingya crisis

High-rises for affected locals on the cards

For the first time in the country, the government is going to construct high-rise buildings to house local residents of Cox’s Bazar whose lands were acquired as well as landless people in the area. Besides, the ministries of education, disaster management and LGRD will take up various projects to set up industries and training centres for the locals and also provide facilities to them, sources in the Cabinet Division and the Cox’s Bazar district administration said.

The projects are: construction of high-rise buildings and shelter homes for the people whose lands have been acquired and the landless in Cox’s Bazar; setting up of saline water processing industry near the sea; establishment of a dry fish processing factory; and setting up a vocational training centre to develop skilled people in Matarbari and Moheshkhali areas.

All these projects have been initiated on a priority basis as per a directive by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to save the local people in Cox’s Bazar from the impact of Rohingya influx. On August 22, the Cabinet Division had asked the ministries of education, disaster management, livestock and LGRD to prepare project proposals and send them to the Economic Relations Division (EDR) for seeking the required funds, the sources said.

Talking to The Independent, a senior official of the Cabinet Division said that the authorities concerned have talked to the Japanese authorities and they may provide the required funds for implementing the projects. “We have already asked the ministries concerned to prepare project proposals and send them to the ERD to arrange funds,” he added.

When contacted, Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner (DC) Md. Kamal Hossain said all the projects have been taken to save the local people from the impact of Rohingya influx. “Two years since the Rohingya influx, the local people have been facing various threats. The influx has also threatened the biodiversity of the tourist district, including three ecologically-critical areas in the country,” the DC added, quoting a study report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The study was conducted in association with the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) and the Cox’s Bazar district administration. It was released on July 25. “If we fail to implement the projects successfully, the local people and the district’s biodiversity would not survive,” the DC said. Hossain also said that more projects, including “Sustainable Solutions to Solid Waste: A Local Response to the Rohingya Crisis in Cox’s Bazar”, have been taken up to safeguard the local people.

Owing to the Rohingya influx, the population of Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas has risen by more than 1.5 million people and they were generating about 10,000 tonnes of waste per month, which requires immediate steps to address the adverse impacts on health and environment.

The prices of daily essentials have risen by 50 per cent since the refugee influx, wages of day labourers have decreased, a number of households have fallen below the poverty line, and 5,500 acres of reserved forests and 1,500 hectares of wildlife habitat have been destroyed in the past two years after the Rohingya influx.

 

 

Rohingya crisis

High-rises for affected locals on the cards

For the first time in the country, the government is going to construct high-rise buildings to house local residents of Coxs Bazar whose lands were acquired as well as landless people in the area. Besides, the ministries of education, disaster management and LGRD will take up various projects to set up industries and training centres for the locals and also provide facilities to them, sources in the Cabinet Division and the Coxs Bazar district administration said. The projects are: construction of high-rise buildings and shelter homes for the people whose lands have been acquired and the landless in Coxs Bazar; setting up of saline water processing industry near the sea; establishment of a dry fish processing factory; and setting up a vocational training centre to develop skilled people in Matarbari and Moheshkhali areas. All these projects have been initiated on a priority basis as per a directive by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to save the local people in Coxs Bazar from the impact of Rohingya influx. On August 22, the Cabinet Division had asked the ministries of education, disaster management, livestock and LGRD to prepare project proposals and send them to the Economic Relations Division (EDR) for seeking the required funds, the sources said. Talking to The Independent, a senior official of the Cabinet Division said that the authorities concerned have talked to the Japanese authorities and they may provide the required funds for implementing the projects. We have already asked the ministries concerned to prepare project proposals and send them to the ERD to arrange funds, he added. When contacted, Coxs Bazar deputy commissioner (DC) Md. Kamal Hossain said all the projects have been taken to save the local people from the impact of Rohingya influx. Two years since the Rohingya influx, the local people have been facing various threats. The influx has also threatened the biodiversity of the tourist district, including three ecologically-critical areas in the country, the DC added, quoting a study report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The study was conducted in association with the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) and the Coxs Bazar district administration. It was released on July 25. If we fail to implement the projects successfully, the local people and the districts biodiversity would not survive, the DC said. Hossain also said that more projects, including Sustainable Solutions to Solid Waste: A Local Response to the Rohingya Crisis in Coxs Bazar, have been taken up to safeguard the local people. Owing to the Rohingya influx, the population of Coxs Bazars Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas has risen by more than 1.5 million people and they were generating about 10,000 tonnes of waste per month, which requires immediate steps to address the adverse impacts on health and environment. The prices of daily essentials have risen by 50 per cent since the refugee influx, wages of day labourers have decreased, a number of households have fallen below the poverty line, and 5,500 acres of reserved forests and 1,500 hectares of wildlife habitat have been destroyed in the past two years after the Rohingya influx.