Rohingya refugees in B'desh suffer from lack of food, medicines, clean water

Dhaka [Bangladesh], September 15 (ANI): The Rohingya Muslims, who have taken refuge in Cox's Bazar and Teknaf border areas in Bangladesh after they fled the barbarous persecution in Myanmar's Rakhine State, are now suffering due to an absence of food, shelters, medicines, sanitation facilities and clean water.

People involved in providing humanitarian assistance to the refugees have called for a central coordination and proper initiatives, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

The United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, said around 4,00,000 refugees have fled from the violence-affected Myanmar's Northern Rakhine state and sought refuge in Bangladesh, where the limited shelter capacity is already exhausted.

Many of over 3,50,000 refugees, staying either under open sky or at the new refugee camps and shelters, are suffering from diarrhoeal and different diseases and don't have an access to even clean drinking water and proper medicines.

Despite the aid from the government, NGOs and many voluntary organisations, there is no relief to the refugees as medicines, sanitation facilities, clean water and shelter remain scarce.

For the proper and equal distribution of aid items to the refugees the Cox's Bazar deputy commissioner's (DC) has already opened a control centre to receive donations and relief items.

Yesterday, India decided to send consignments of humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh, in response to the humanitarian crisis.

This development comes days after Bangladesh briefed India about the problems faced by it due to the influx of refugees from Myanmar following the ethnic violence in the Buddhist-majority nation.

"The 'Operation Insaniyat' is launched to help those are in need, according to which, the relief material will be delivered in multiple consignments, the first tranche of which will be brought to Chittagong by an Indian Air Force plane on September 14," a press statement read.

"The relief material consists of items required urgently by the affected people, namely rice, pulses, sugar, salt, cooking oil, tea, ready to eat noodles, biscuits, mosquito nets etc," the statement added.

The statement further read that India stands ready to provide any assistance required by Bangladesh in the hour of need. (ANI)