Bhashan Char is ready for relocating the first of batch of Rohingyas living in timid and squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar, says Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury.
Speaking at a media briefing on Cyclone Titli on Thursday, he said that the prime minister will inaugurate the newly-built shelters.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was expected to inaugurate it on Oct 4. But she could manage it due to time constraint” said the minister.
He, however, could not provide a specific date for the relocation of the first batch of Rohingyas. “It’s yet to be decided. But everything is ready, whenever the prime minister instructs, it will start.”
In November last year, the government cleared Tk 23.12 billion for the construction of homes for 100,000 Rohingyas on Bhashan Char, an island in the southeastern district of Noakhali.
The Bangladesh Navy implemented the project under the Prime Minister’s Office.

Bangladesh is now home to over 1.1 million Rohingyas after some 700,000 fled Myanmar after the army launched a crackdown on Rohingyas in August last year.
Bhashan Char, previously known as Thengar Char, is 10,000 acres at high tide and 15,000 acres at low tide. No-one lives on the island, which is mostly used for cattle grazing.
Motorboats are the only mode of travel to the island. It takes between three to three-and-a-half hours to travel to Bhashan Char from the nearest human inhabitant Hatia, the island Upazila of Noakhali.