Rohingya camps to be shifted
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the government has planned for shifting Rohingya refugees to suitable places from the existing camps at Kutupalang and Nayapara in Cox's Bazar.
She was speaking at a meeting with the high officials of the disaster management and relief ministry at Bangladesh Secretariat.
The Rohingya refugees will be shifted to a wider area as they are now living in a very inhumane condition, PM's Press Secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhury told newsmen after the meeting, quoting the premier.
The refugee camp areas near the Cox's Bazar sea beach would be utilised for the development of tourism, she added.
According to official statistics, some 34,000 Rohingya refugees are now living in Bangladesh. However, the unofficial number of the refugees is two to three lakh.
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
Describing Bangladesh as an internationally-recognised role model in tackling both natural and manmade disasters, Hasina said there should be more preparedness for facing any strong earthquake.
“Disasters can come at any moment. So, we'll have to remain alert all the time. There should be more preparedness for facing earthquakes,” she mentioned.
The PM reaffirmed her government's resolve to free the country from poverty. “Since we've set an example in tackling natural disasters, we'll have to ensure further socioeconomic development of the country's people,” she added.
Renewing her pledge to turn Bangladesh into a mid-income country by 2021 and a developed one by 2041, she said some five crore people have graduated from the lower class to the middle class over the last five and a half years.
Hasina highlighted the construction of silos and godowns with financial assistance from Japan to store food for up to three years so that the country does not need to beg or seek help from others during any disaster.
Referring to this year's floods victims, she said her government had come up with food and necessary relief materials after the flood and directed the ministry to take initiative to build homes for those who have lost their accommodation in river erosion. The government, she added, will provide the victims with khas land, if necessary.
During the 1998 countrywide flood, Hasina recalled, the BBC and some development partners, including the World Bank, had an apprehension that about two crore people would die from hunger. “But, due to our timely steps that didn't happen.... We proved in 1998 that if there's a will, any disaster can be faced.”
Referring to the successful rescue operations in the Rana Plaza building collapse last year in Savar, she said the rescue operations lasted for 21 days on humanitarian ground which is very rare in the world.
Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya and Mesbahul Alam, secretary of the ministry, were present.
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