HRW urges Bangladesh to relocate Rohingya refugee camps
Bangkok, Aug 6: Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday urged the Bangladesh government to relocate the makeshift camps where more than 7,00,000 Rohingya refugees have been living in overcrowded conditions for over an year.
Members of the ethnic minority fled across the border following an offensive launched by the Myanmar Army on August 25 last year in Rakhine state after Rohingya rebels carried out a series of attacks on government security outposts.
The situation of "severe overcrowding" heightens the risk of "diseases, fires and increased community tensions, as well as domestic and sexual violence," warned HRW refugee rights director Bill Frelick at the launch of the report "Bangladesh is not my Country: The plight of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar" in Bangkok, Efe news reported.
With the onset of the monsoon rains, the threat of floods and landslides in the refugee shelters of Kutupalong-Balukhali near the Myanmar border has increased.
According to Frelick, experts have identified six viable relocation sites that could accommodate 2,63,000 people.
These sites, spread across more than 5.26 square kilometres, are located near where the Rohingyas are currently based, he said.
Frelick said Bangladesh insists the situation is temporary, so it prevents the construction of permanent structures.
Bangladesh plans to relocate 1,00,000 Rohingyas to an uninhabited island, Bhasan Char.
The artificial island is not suitable for accommodating people due to the risk of it being completely flooded by the arrival of a cyclone, among other problems such as the lack of land for cultivation or aquifers, experts have said.
Last week, Myanmar set up a new commission to investigate reports of human rights violations allegedly committed by the military against the Rohingyas.
At the report launch, Phil Robertson, deputy director of HRW's Asia division, charged that not much can be expected from the commission as some of its members have publicly rejected any violation by the Army.
International organisations including the United Nations have reported killings, torture, rapes and looting and burning of houses among other crimes allegedly committed by the Army.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has described the campaign as ethnic cleansing with suspected acts of genocide.
Myanmar considers the Rohingyas illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and subjects them to various restrictions, including limiting their freedom of movement.
Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement in November 2017 for the repatriation of the Rohingyas, according to which the refugees should have started their return to Myanmar on January 23.
Frelick said that the repatriation will not take place anytime soon.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Tripura min thanks Centre for clearing final location survey for new railway line
Agartala (PTI): Tripura Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railways Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw for clearing the final location survey (FLS) for a new rail line between Jirania and Bodhjungnagar industrial estate in West Tripura.
The Ministry of Railways has accorded sanction for conducting an FLS for the construction of a new line, the NFR said in a statement on Monday.
The estimated cost of the 14-km stretch will be Rs 42 lakh, and the approval marks an important step toward strengthening railway infrastructure and enhancing industrial activities in the northeastern state, it said.
"The approval for the construction of this new railway line is an important step in strengthening the railway infrastructure in the state and increasing the mobility of various industries in the industrial city of Bodhjungnagar," the transport minister said in a Facebook post on Monday.
"The proposed new Jirania-Bodhjungnagar railway line, if commissioned, will play an important role as a rail corridor for the transport of goods from the industrial city of Bodhjungnagar and which will benefit the people of the state, including businessmen," he added.
After the completion of this survey, the construction of the new railway line will help encourage further industrial development in the districts adjoining West Tripura, which will significantly boost the local economy, he said.
"This important project will play a special role in improving the railway connectivity in the state and boost the economic growth of the region," the minister added.
"I express my heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Manik Saha and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for taking this step," he added.
_vb_22.jpeg)