International NGOs are apparently softening their stance after the successful shifting of the Rohingya from Cox's Bazar to Bhasanchar island, said local volunteers.
Initially, they were very rigid but now they are saying that they may start providing services to the Rohingya here if they find that the displaced people are shifted to the remote island voluntarily.
Talking to this correspondent, several families said that their first impression about the island was very good.
Abdul Malek, who was shifted to the island from Cox's Bazar camps said that both he and his wife were impressed with the building structure.
"This is very safe accommodation. In Cox's Bazar we were always afraid of the landslide as the camps were on the slope of hills. But here that fear is gone" he added. Malek and 1641 Rohingya have been shifted from Cox's Bazar to Bhasanchar by four navy ships amid objections from the UN agencies.
The authorities initially plan to provide services to the people through 23 local NGOs.
Saiful Islam Chowdhury, the coordinator of the Bhasanchar NGO Alliance, said that the refugees are already provided with one month's food packs.
There was a plan that the food would be served by the local NGOs for the first week but "today we have decided that the refugees will cook their own food from Monday," Mr Chowdhury said. The decision was taken to engage the refugees in some kind of activities so that they did not feel bored.
The local NGOs who are engaged in service providing in Bhasanchar sought several facilities from the authorities including air ambulance services to airlift critically-ill refugee patients.
"We also sought the Navy support for transporting goods and volunteers to and from the island. They have agreed to do so," Mr Chowdhury said.
The authorities have plans to bring 100 thousand refugees from Cox's Bazar camps to this island.
The date for shifting the second batch is not fixed yet, officials said.
There was a plan to send back 306 Rohingya to Cox's Bazar from Bhasanchar who were rescued from the Bay of Bengal while they were being trafficked to Malaysia a few months ago.
