Project cost of Rogingya camps’ barbed-wire fence to rise

To stop Rohingyas’ migration from their respective refugee camps, the Home Affairs Ministry has sought Tk 84.50 crore from the finance ministry to erect a barbed-wire fence around the Rohingya shelters in Ukhia and Bhasan Char.

The project is being executed by the Bangladesh Army under the revised development work of a project titled "Security Enhancement of Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN)".

The finance division of the finance ministry, however, has asked the contractor to submit details as to how they spent Tk 150 crore out of Tk 197 crore earmarked for development work programmes for these displaced people.

It also wants to know the percentage of physical work progress, coupled with the FDMN project’s breakdown components with deadlines.

Although this public project started in 2019, the contractor said that some of the work on the fencing and sidewalks could not be done due to a lack of funds.

The home ministry sent a revised development work for the Security Enhancement of Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN) project, an official of the finance ministry, said.

A total of 8,89,704 FDMN of 1,89,913 families are now living at 35 shelter camps in Kutupalong in Ukhia of Teknaf and Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal.

Home ministry officials said the fencing around the Rohingya camps has been worn-out since 2021 September.

Rohingya rights activist Mohibullah was shot dead at the office of ‘Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights at a refugee camp in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar on September 29, 2021.  Mohibullah was the chairman of the organisation.

Ukhia Rohingya camp’s resident one Abdul Jabbar, a son of an alleged terrorist, Mahmand Hasim, recently displayed a script on a website claiming that he had killed four Bangladeshi fishermen and was involved in another felony.

Around one-and-half-year ago, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had said the barbed-wire fence would keep the Rohingyas safe and secure and would also put off their 'criminal activities'.

It was then the home ministry informed the media that the Bangladesh Army had put up a 111-km (69 miles) of fencing around the refugee camps in Ukhia and Teknaf, under Cox’s Bazar district and the rest of the fence would be completed by June 2022.

The government launched the project in December 2019, saying it was needed to boost security and reduce crime in the (Myanmar) border region. More than 1 million Rohingya refugees are housed at different camps and settlements in southeastern Bangladesh.