The government and United Nations agencies are now focusing on ensuring accessible shelters for the Rohingyas, who took refuge in Cox’s Bazar to save themselves from the brutalities of the Myanmar security forces and local Buddhist vigilantes in the Rakhine State. Overcrowded camps are hampering the efforts to provide services to the forcibly-displaced people, according to the UN agencies. “With so many people having settled in such a small area, site planning and management is vital for the protection of Rohingya refugees,” noted the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in a news release. “We are working with [humanitarian] partners and the government to ensure access to displacement sites, all of which developed on hilly terrain, which is extremely difficult to reach with services,” it added.

There are now 817,000 refugees in Cox’s Bazar including 200,000 who had been seeking refuge there prior to the exodus that began in late August. All but 46,000 among them are living in makeshift shelters or displacement sites, set up on hilly terrain, making access extremely challenging.

For instance, IOM has been trucking in over 740,000 litres of water into the settlements, where often it has to be hand-carried up steep hills to bring it close to the elderly and children, who might not otherwise get access to it. Building roads and basic infrastructure such as drains and stairways, is therefore critical to ensure that all refugees – and in particular the most vulnerable – can receive services as quickly as possible as well as to prevent spread of disease.

At the same time, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has relocated some 1,700 new refugees from Kutupalong to a Government-allocated site in south-eastern Bangladesh, decongesting existing facilities in the overcrowded camp. Since Tuesday, volunteers have been helping vulnerable refugees to carry their belongings to the new site. UNHCR has also distributed household items and shelter kits containing plastic sheets, bamboo poles and ropes. According to Babar Baloch, a spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, a total of 5,000 refugees will be moved to the newly-opened site, which is part of a larger 3,000-acre piece of land known as Kutupalong Extension.