In the first two phases, 3,446 Rohingyas were relocated to the island in the Bay of Bengal
Some 1,778 more Rohingyas have arrived at Bhashan Char in Noakhali from the camps in Cox's Bazar in the third phase of the relocation process.
The persecuted Myanmar citizens reached the island in the Bay of Bengal around 1pm on Friday, after a three-hour journey from Chittagong.
Earlier, four ships of the Bangladesh Navy carrying the Rohingyas left the Chittagong Boat Club jetty in the port city's Patenga area around 9:45am, said National Security Intelligence (NSI) officials.
The Rohingyas, who have volunteered to be relocated to Bhashan Char developed by the Bangladesh Navy at a cost of Tk3,100 crore, were brought to Chittagong from Cox's Bazar on Thursday.
Also Read - 1,804 more Rohingyas relocated to Bhashan Char
At night, they stayed at a transit camp set up on the premises of BAF Shaheen College in Patenga.
On Friday morning, some 35 buses carried them to the Chittagong Boat Club.
In the first two phases -- December 4 and 29, some 3,446 Rohingyas were relocated to the Bhashan Char island.
A Bangladesh Navy ship carries Rohingya refugees to Bhashan Char island, under Noakhali district, in the Bay of Bengal on Friday, January 29, 2021 | Dhaka Tribune Buoyed by the success of the first and second relocation, the government is continuing its effort to relocate some 100,000 Rohingyas to Bhashan Char in phases to provide them with a better living place.
Also Read - 3rd phase of Rohingya relocation to Bhashan Char underway
Located 34 kilometres from the mainland, the island under Hatiya upazila of Noakhali surfaced 20 years ago and was never inhabited.
Contractors say its infrastructure is like a modern township, with multi-family concrete homes, schools, playgrounds and roads. It also has solar power facilities, a water supply system and cyclone shelters.
Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar district and most of them entered Bangladesh since August 25, 2017, amid a military crackdown on Rohingyas in the Rakhine state of Myanmar, which the UN called a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing" and other rights groups dubbed as "genocide."
Bangladesh has been urging the global community to mount pressure on Myanmar for effective repatriation of the Rohingyas.
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