Jungle Salimpur’s security to be fortified: Salahuddin 

The government has decided to establish another police academy, relocate Chattogram Central Jail and set up permanent installations of several law enforcement agencies in Jungle Salimpur aiming at making the area’s security foolproof.

Chattogram Central Jail will also be relocated to Jungle Salimpur which sprawls on approximately 3100 acres of land. The government has already acquired 72 acres of land for the new prison, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Thursday.

Land has also been acquired for permanent installations of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Special Response Battalion (SRB) and the Armed Police Battalion in the area.

The minister disclosed the plans at a press briefing at the Secretariat following meetings on infrastructure development and law and order in Jungle Salimpur. 

He also attended a meeting of the National Committee on Coordination, Management and Law and Order of Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals.

Salahuddin Ahmed said road construction is already underway in Jungle Salimpur under the leadership of the Engineering Construction Battalion (ECB). The meeting reviewed the progress of the work.

The area has government-owned land in different mouzas, including hill-classified and khas land, the minister said. The government is taking steps to bring all such land under proper management and governance.

He said action would also be taken to address illegal settlements in the area. The government will consider how people who settled there illegally at different times can be rehabilitated.

Educational institutions and other establishments in Jungle Salimpur will also be brought under proper management, he said.
The minister said the government wants to remove what he described as a “haven of criminals” from Jungle Salimpur and bring the area under discipline and good governance.

Permanent security presence will be ensured through the police, BGB, SRB and Armed Police Battalion. Facilities for the law enforcement agencies will be built on the land already acquired for them, he said.

The government has also decided to establish two new army camps in the Noakhalipara and Rangikhali areas of Cox’s Bazar to prevent abductions, ransom demands and other crimes in the hilly areas.

The camps will operate under the 10 Division of the Bangladesh Army, the home minister said.

He said abductions are occurring regularly in the hilly areas and the new camps are expected to help curb such crimes.

The decision was taken at the second meeting of the National Committee on Coordination, Management and Law and Order of Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals at the Home Ministry.

Salahuddin Ahmed said the government believes that the Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar is possible with the leadership of the United Nations and support from the international community.

A lot of time has already passed and the crisis has become more complicated, he said, adding that the government hopes to resolve the crisis soon.

Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar is possible with the leadership of the United Nations and support from the international community said, Home Minister. 

He said a long time had already passed and the crisis had become more complicated.

“We hope to get out of this crisis soon,” the minister said.

Asked whether the government was considering building a separate prison for Rohingyas, Salahuddin Ahmed said, to his knowledge, there was no such proposal under consideration.

The minister expressed hope that the long-delayed repatriation process could move forward with UN leadership and support from the international community.

He said international cooperation would be important to resolve the crisis and facilitate the return of Rohingyas to Myanmar.

Responding to a question about public confidence in the police, the home minister said the government had earned public trust.

“We have earned public trust. The people will judge how much trust we have earned,” he said.

He said maintaining public confidence was now the government’s responsibility.

“Being able to establish greater public trust is a challenge for us,” he added.