India
UN team visits Rohingya camp in Jammu amid row over water, power supply | India News – Times of India
Senior protection officer Tomoko Fukumura and protection officer Ragini Trakroo Zutushi met the Rohingya Muslims and some locals in the Kiryani Talab area of Narwal, an official said on Wednesday.
A heated debate began after Rohingyas living on three plots in the Narwhal area of Jammu recently alleged that their power and water supply had been cut off, despite the immigrants being registered with the UNHCR.
J&K Jal Shakti Minister Javed Ahmed Rana subsequently announced on December 7 that water supply to the slums where the immigrants live would not be interrupted.
This prompted the BJP to allege a “political conspiracy” behind the settlement of illegal Rohingya and Bengali immigrants in Jammu. The party demanded a CBI probe to identify those involved in bringing and harboring them in the city.
The party lashed out at the National Conference government for providing water and power connections to the slums where the illegal settlers lived, claiming that this was done because they belonged to a “particular community”.
Responding to the allegations, CM Omar told reporters on Tuesday: “It is a humanitarian issue. The central government should decide about them (Rohingyas). If they need to be sent back, then do so… If you can’t send them back, we can’t let them starve. They should not die of cold… The Government of India (GoI) should tell us what to do with them. As long as they are here, we have to take care of them.”
Omar said it was not his government or party that had settled the Rohingyas in the slums of Jammu. “If there is a change in the Centre’s policies, take them back. As long as they are here, we cannot treat them like animals. They are human beings and they should be treated as such,” he further said.
NC President Farooq Abdullah also came in and said, “The Union government has brought the refugees here. We didn’t take them with us. They settled them here, and as long as they are here, it is our duty to provide them with water and electricity.”
According to government data, over 13,700 foreigners, most of whom are Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals, are settled in Jammu and other districts of J&K, where their population increased by over 6,000 between 2008 and 2016.
Because India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, Rohingyas in the country are denied refugee status and are identified as illegal immigrants. In India, UNHRC identity cards, intended to protect registered refugees in many countries from arbitrary arrest and deportation, serve only to provide access to basic services.
In March 2021, police during a verification drive found more than 270 Rohingyas, including women and children, living illegally in Jammu city and lodged them in a shelter in Kathua sub-jail.
The presence of Rohingyas near security establishments has also raised concerns, especially since a terrorist was killed by security forces in South Kashmir’s Tral on October 4, 2015. Abdur Rehman al Arkani, initially identified under the pseudonym Chota Burmi, turned out to be from Rakhine. , the province of Myanmar where Rohingyas come from.
