Officials at the local administration in Cox’s Bazar are exhausted with protocol duties for important government and foreign officials visiting the district because of the ongoing influx of Rohingyas fleeing violence in Myanmar erupted on August 25.
District police officials said that they kept standby on an average seven double-cabin pickup vans to pilot the vehicles of very important personalities, including ministers, foreign diplomats, political leaders and senior military and civil officials.
They said that 50 other cops were kept standby as gunmen or for house duty for the visiting important personalities who spent night in Cox’s Bazar.
Retired secretary NI Khan said that it was a question of responsible behaviour from the visiting personalities.
The officials believed that the protocols cost lots of workforce which might be used to the relief or regular works.
On Saturday, four ministers, including finance minister AMA Muhith, visited Cox’s Bazar while home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal would paid another visit on Sunday along with his entourage.
The officials said that among the cabinet members, road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, also the ruling Awami League general secretary, was one of the frequent visitors to Cox’s Bazar moving with large convoy while Jatiya Party chairman Hussain Muhammad Ershad also used large convoy to join relief work.
At about 4:00pm on September 25, Obaidul Quader was travelling from Tekhnaf to Ukhiya along with more than 10 other vehicles.
A protocol car of police was seen standby along with six cops at the border of Ukhiya upazila to pilot the convoy.
On Saturday, he went to Cox’s Bazar once again with other cabinet members.
Obaidul Quader could not be available as his phone was received by one of his assistants, saying he was busy.
A number of government officials said that they had to remain busy in protocol duties instead of attending their regular work.
A senior official in Cox’s Bazar said that he had to go to the airport on protocol duty for a minister instead of attending district coordination meeting, considered as most important meeting among the government agencies in a district.
Another government official said that they had to go to Cox’s Bazar airport very frequently to receive quests visiting the district since the beginning of the influx.
Cox’s Bazar superintendent of police AKM Iqbal Hossain said that they had to ensure protocol duties for visiting dignitaries.
Another police official said, ‘We are exhausted with protocol duties for dignitaries, putting our other regular work aside.’
An official at Rohingya Refugee Repatriation Commissioner’s Office in Cox’s Bazar said that they had to remain busy with the visiting guests instead of regular relief work.
On September 25, Border Guard Bangladesh director general Major General Abul Hossain visited Unchiprang Rohingya makeshift camp to distribute relief.
Border Guard officials said that they had engaged over 200 personnel on duty in different phases on the occasion of the visit.
Armed border guards were seen patrolling the street from Cox’s bazar Airport to the makeshift camps on September 25.
Police officials said that they had brought over 500 officials and cops from different nearby districts while the government deputed several dozen of the officials to face recent crisis involving over half a million Rohingyas entered Bangladesh.
