DHAKA: The government has allocated Tk 2,312 crore for building makeshift shelter the Rohingyas, who fled into country following persecution in Myanmar.

The project, Ashrayan-3, was approved in a meeting of Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) chaired by Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina on Tuesday (Nov 28).

Ashrayan-3 will be built at Vasanchar in Hatiya upazila of Noakhali where over one lakh Rohingya people will be accommodated. 

Under this project, a total of 120 cluster villages will be built to accommodate 1,03,200 people where there will be 1,440 barrack houses and 120 shelter stations. Moreover, a naval office and staff colony will be built there for ensuring security.    

According to ECNEC sources, the project was approved for several reasons. After the Rohingya repatriation is completed, the project will be used to accommodate the poor people.
  
Recently, over 700,000 Rohingya refugees have fled into Bangladesh after an escalation in violence in Rakhine state amid outright denial of Myanmar. They have been sheltered in Cox’s Bazar. There were around 4-5 lakhs Rohingyas already staying in the country. 

The Rohingya influx has posing a threat to our national security and the tourism business of Cox’s Bazar. The project has been approved on emergency ground to combat the crisis.

BDST: 1458 HRS, NOV 28, 2017
AP