Rohingyas vacate 'illegal settlement' in Jammu

Days after electricity and water supplies were disconnected to their alleged illegal settlement in the Channi Rama area of Jammu, Rohingyas on Thursday said that they have vacated the place. Authorities had disconnected the connections following complaints from residents in the area near Nideesh Enclave.

The large chunk of land on which several shanties had been set up to house Rohingyas belongs to a resident of Rajouri district, officials said.

Rohingya, numbering between 30 and 40, who had settled in several shanties, cleared the area after a police directive.

“Police came last evening and asked us to vacate the area. We accordingly sought time to clear it. We have removed our jhuggies today, but we do not know where to go,” one of the Rohingyas told reporters.

He said that the authorities had disconnected power and water supplies to the settlement about 20 days ago. “We came to Jammu four years ago and settled here,” a woman said.

Asked where they would go next, they said the police had informed them they would be taken to the holding centre at Kathua jail.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration had launched a verification drive for Rohingyas in 2021 and sent 271 to the Hiranagar holding centre. Their number has now risen to 283, including 60 children and 84 women, a jail official said.

Authorities have converted part of the Hiranagar sub-jail into a detention centre where Rohingyas are being kept together.

The Tehsildar Bahu, Jammu, had directed the Power Development Department (PDD) and Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department to disconnect electricity and water supply connections to the Rohingya settlement near Nideesh Enclave in the Channi Rama area.

The order followed a complaint from the president of the Nideesh Enclave Residents' Welfare Association, who sought the eviction of the Rohingya occupants, citing various concerns, including law and order.

A similar situation emerged in December 2024 when the administration ordered the disconnection of water and power supplies to slums and homes where Rohingya refugees were living in Jammu.

According to government data, more than 13,700 foreigners — most of them Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals — are settled in Jammu and Kashmir. Their population increased by over 6,000 between 2008 and 2016.