Overcrowding increases risks of disease outbreak in Rohingya camps

Overcrowding has increased the risk of outbreak of diseases at camps of Rohingyas entering Bangladesh to flee ethnic cleansing in Rakhine State of Myanmar.
Decongestion of Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar is a critical and immediate need to mitigate the health and safety risks, United Nations and international aid workers said on Monday.
United Nations resident coordinator office in Bangladesh in a monitoring report on Rohingya crisis response plan said that it was estimated that another 1,000-1,500 acres of usable land was required to decongest the existing population of Balukhali camp, also known as Kutupalong-Balukhali extension camp, to provide living space that met international emergency.
‘The lack of space remains the main challenge for the sector as sites are highly congested leading to extremely hard living conditions with increased risks of disease outbreak and protection incidents and no space for service provisions and facilities,’ said a situation report of Inter Sector Coordination Group.
‘For the Kutupalong / Balukhali extensions site, a high percentage of the land is unsuitable for human settlement as risks of flooding and landslides are high and are further aggravated by the congestion and extensive terracing of the hills,’ it said.
The Inter Sector Coordination Group is coordinating UN agencies and international aid workers working at Cox’s Bazar.
According to the UN estimation till Monday, 6,36,000 Rohingyas entered Bangladesh since the beginning of the new influx on August 25.
Officials estimated that the new influx already took to 10.45 lakh the number of documented and undocumented Myanmar nationals in Bangladesh entering the country at times since 1978.
The new influx began after Myanmar security forces responded to Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’s reported attacks on August 25 by launching violence what the United Nations denounced as ethnic cleansing.
The government in early September planned to construct the mega camp at Balukhali under Ukhia in Cox’s Bazar with 84,000 sheds on 2,000 acre forest area for estimated 4.20 lakh Rohingyas. 
As the influx continued, the government on October 5 decided to build 1,50,000 sheds on 3,000 acre to accommodate eight lakh Rohingyas. 
According to Inter Sector Coordination Group situation report, 343,000 Rohingya new arrivals are now living at Balukhali camp. It also said that 2,37,000 were still living at Hakimpara, Thangkhali, Unchiprang, Jamtoli, Moinarghona and Chakmarkul in Cox’s Bazar.
The situation report also said that 46,000 new arrivals of Rohingyas were still living in Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Ramu, Teknaf and Ukhia areas.
‘We cannot shift all Rohingyas to the Balukhali camp as we do not have enough space there,’ refugee relief and repatriation commissioner of Cox’s Bazar Mohammad Abul Kalam said.
‘We are looking for new spaces to shift all Rohingyas now living in makeshift places,’ he said.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net