Helter-skelter shelter: Why are Rohingya refugees in the news again?

No sooner did the union minister Hardeep Puri hail giving Rohingyas a permanent shelter than the MHA denied any such order

Rohingya refugees have made it to the headlines in India once again. This time the news is about their housing and shelter. On Monday, reports emerged stating that the refugees will get flats with basic amenities and round-the-clock security in the Bakkarwala area in Delhi.

Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Puri took to Twitter to hail the decision.

"India has always welcomed those who have sought refuge in the country. In a landmark decision all #Rohingya #Refugees will be shifted to EWS flats in the Bakkarwala area of Delhi. They will be provided basic amenities, UNHCR IDs & round-the-clock @DelhiPolice protection," Puri tweeted.

 

The decision was reportedly taken by a high-level meeting over the accommodation of the Rohingyas chaired by the chief secretary of Delhi. The meeting was attended by officials from the Delhi government, Delhi Police and Ministry of Home Affairs.

"Those who made a career out of spreading canards on India's refugee policy deliberately linking it to #CAA will be disappointed. India respects & follows @UN Refugee Convention 1951 & provides refuge to all, regardless of their race, religion or creed," Puri's tweet further read.

The refugees were to be shifted to 250 flats belonging to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category in Bakkarwala village.

However, the Ministry of Home Affairs soon tweeted that the central government has made no such announcement.

"With respect to news reports in certain sections of the media regarding Rohingya illegal foreigners, it is clarified that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has not given any directions to provide EWS flats to Rohingya illegal migrants at Bakkarwala in New Delhi," the tweet read.

MHA further said that the government of Delhi had proposed to shift the Rohingyas to a new location. But the ministry directed the GNCTD to ensure that the Rohingya illegal foreigners "will continue at the present location."

The statement said that the Home Ministry has already taken up the matter of their deportation with the concerned country through MEA.

In 2017, Rohingyas fled their home country, Myanmar, to Bangladesh and later to India to save themselves from the violence that had broken out in Rakhine, their home state. In the first month of violence alone, between August 25, 2017, and September 24, 2017, over 6,700 died in the attacks, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

The violence erupted when the armed forces and the police mounted an attack in Rakhine as a clampdown on the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). ARSA had earlier taken responsibility for attacks on police posts in Myanmar.

Since then, over 700,000 Rohingyas have fled the country seeking asylum in neighbouring Bangladesh and India.

In India, they will continue to remain in detention centres.

"Illegal foreigners are to be kept in detention centre till their deportation as per law. The Government of Delhi has not declared the present location as a detention centre. They have been directed to do the same immediately," the MHA tweet read.