CHITTAGONG, Sep 14: As many as 0.4 million Rohingya people have entered Cox's Bazar and Bandarban hill district since August 25.
Another 0.1 million people are waiting in the no man's land of the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and inside the bordering Rakhine villages.
The number of the earlier infiltrated Rohingyas living in Bangladesh is 0.4 million (four lakh) plus. So the number now crossed 0.8 million, as per statistics available with the local administration.
UN agencies fear that the total number of Rohingyas may reach one million by the year-end if the situation in Myanmar's Rakhine State remains unchanged.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday up to 400,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since August 25, with thousands more arriving every day.
Around 60 per cent are children, according to preliminary estimates.
Sources in the administration said at least 15, 000 people are entering into Bangladesh everyday through the Teknaf Shah Parirdwip, Choaikong, Ula Meah Hat of Cox's Bazar and Naikhongchari and Gundhum points of Bandarban.
They are mixing up with other Rohingyas living in Bandarban and Cox's Bazar who entered into the country at different times when the repression of the Myanmar security regime was strengthened.
Sources said thousands of the Rohingyas have come down on the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Road and have taken shelter on both sides of the road. Most of them are women and children.
The traffic congestion has become a regular feature on the busy road.
As the Rohingyas are scattered here and there, the markets in the resort town of Cox's Bazar are losing business as the tourists feel shy of visiting the markets and shopping. The picture is same on the Ukhia-Teknaf Road.
Most of the Rohingya people who entered Bangladesh since 1992 are living in different Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar while thousands others are living in Bandarban district and other regions of Chittagong, prominently at Satkania and Patiya upazila and Chittagong city.
The population of Cox's Bazar district is 2.4 million while that of illegal Rohingya people is 0.8 million as per the district administration officials. The ratio of local population and the Myanmar's Rohingyas is 3:1.
This extra burden of Rohingya people for their food, clothing, housing and medical facilities poses a serious problem and huge pressure on the economy of a developing country like Bangladesh.
On the other hand, it has a serious negative impact on the social environment of the country and causes high risk of internal security as they are very prone to spread across the country in stead of being confined within the refugee camps or the area restricted for them, sources said.
Over the last few weeks the prices of consumer goods and other household commodities have gone up and the local people have started to feel the extra pressure on employment generation as well.
Publicity secretary of Cox's Bazar People's Forum HM Nazrul Islam said the Rohingya people are entering Cox's Bazar in thousands everyday through different border points. Eight to 10 boats are carrying them in several trips from bordering Rakhine villages across the Naf River at Teknaf.
These local boatmen are inspiring the infiltration of Rohingyas, bringing them across and cleaning them out of all their belongings including money, utensils and even the reared goats, he said.
The people of the entire Cox's Bazar district have been severely affected by recent natural calamities including floods which have left widespread damage in the road communication, crops, houses, infrastructure, businesses mainly in the tourism sector and its overall economy.
The new problem of influx of the Rohingya people has made the situation grave with severe disruption to the normal life, day-to-day activities and above all the unexpected shot up of the prices of essentials, Nazrul said.
He said that most of the fleeing Rohingyas are now at Ukhia, Teknaf and the Cox's Bazar sadar (city) areas. The local are scared of more influx in the days to come and their number may even exceed that of the local population.
In this regard, he recalled that the Prime Minister has said the refugees would not be repatriated until and unless the secured life of the Rohingyas is not ensured in Myanmar and their rights would be ensured here till then.
So the locals are in one sense happy that they are providing shelter to hundreds of thousands of the distressed Rohingyas deprived of their rights at their own country on the one hand and really scared of their growing number in the country's resort district on the other.
Agencies add: "There are acute shortages of everything, most critically shelter, food and clean water," said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF's Representative in Bangladesh.
"We are getting concerned," Mohammed Abdiker Mohamud, director of operations and emergency at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said at a media briefing on Thursday after his visit to Cox's Bazar.
Refugee agency UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner (Operations) George Okoth-Obbo was also present at the briefing. Mohamud called for international help to deal with the crisis.
He said international community is "not yet doing enough" in response to the humanitarian crisis created in Cox's Bazar.
"More needs to be done," he said, appreciating the Bangladesh government for its emergency response to the crisis. Okoth-Obbo said Bangladesh is facing "quite a serious humanitarian" situation as about 400,000 people entered the country within two and a half weeks.
"This is a very large number and Bangladesh has its own challenges," he said, adding that there has to be "very strong appreciation and acknowledgement" to the government and people of Bangladesh for giving them shelter.
He, however, said the situation is quite tough and it calls for a "comprehensive response" to the situation.
He said lots need to be done, though lots have been done. "We have to step up across all areas of need."
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