Relief material handed over for Rohingyas

Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka, Harsh V Shringla, on Wednesday handed over relief material meant for the Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh.

The relief material, sent through Indian Naval Ship Airavat  from Vishakhapatnam on May 5, reached Bangladesh on Tuesday carrying 373 metric tonnes of relief consignment. This included 104 MT of milk powder, 102 MT of dried fish, 61 MT of baby food, 50,000 raincoats and 50,000 pairs of gum boots. The handing-over of relief material took place at Chattogram port at Wednesday morning. Another tranche containing 1 million litres of kerosene oil and 20,000 cooking stoves is expected to arrive soon.

The relief material was sent on the request of Bangladesh government in view of forthcoming monsoons. This is the second consignment of relief material by India. Last September under "Operation Insaniyat" India had handed over 981 MT of relief consignments brought through air and sea. The relief material consisted of family packs for each of the families of displaced persons consisting of rice, pulses, sugar, salt, cooking oil, tea, ready-to-eat noodles, biscuits, mosquito nets etc.

Speaking at the occasion, Shringla said India has always stood by Bangladesh in times of need. "Ours is a relationship based on trust, friendship and shared martyrdom that goes beyond strategic partnership. Today, we stand beside the friendly people of Bangladesh with our second phase of relief assistance to help face the humanitarian crisis caused by the influx of displaced persons from the Rakhine State of Myanmar," the envoy said.

‘Rohingya immigrants not being discriminated’

New Delhi: Rohingya immigrants are not being discriminated and all health, sanitation, medical and educational facilities were being provided to them, the Government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told the apex court that in pursuance to its April 9 order, a team was constituted comprising members of Ministry of Health and a representative from the Ministry of Home Affairs and which visited the refugee camps at Mewat in Haryana and Kalindi Kunj in Delhi on April 23 and 24.