Over 10 lakh Rohingyas registered so far

A total of 10.38 lakh Rohingyas have been registered so far and they will not be able to carry Bangladeshi passport or National Identity (NID) Card anymore.

The Immigration and Passport department today at a meeting at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban informed this to the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs.

In the meeting, the parliamentary watchdog asked the home ministry officials to complete fencing around all the 35 Rohingya camps in different areas of Cox's Bazar immediately to ensure their security.

Besides, fencing will prevent them from easy mixing with locals, which often creates problems in the areas, the parliamentary body said.

"We have also asked the ministry officials to prepare a digital mapping of all the Rohingya camps," Fakhrul Imam, a Jatiya Party MP and a member of the committee, told The Daily Star.

Asked, he said the passport department informed them that after completion of the registration of 10.38 lakh Rohingyas, the information has been incorporated in the government's database.

"Therefore they [10.38 lakh Rohingyas] won't be able to get Bangladeshi passport or NID cards as it happened in the past," he also said.

There were allegations that Rohingyas managed Bangladeshi passport through unfair means and go to Saudi Arabia, creating problems for Bangladesh.

The Jatiya Sangsad committee also expressed concern as number of Rohingyas in different areas in Cox's Bazar outnumbered the locals.

The JS body therefore recommended to repatriate several lakh Rohingyas to Sonadia island under Hatia of Noakhali, meeting sources said.