SC notice to Centre on Myanmar refugees
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| On the margins: The Rohingya refugee camp at Madanpur Khadar, New Delhi. (Photo: Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, The Hindu) |
October 6, 2013
The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Centre on a PIL seeking direction to ensure proper health facilities for women and children of Rohingya tribes of Myanmar, residing in refugee camps in Delhi and Haryana.
A bench of Justices H L Dattu and Gyan Sudha Misra also sought response from Delhi and Haryana governments on the petition filed by Jaffar Ullah.
According to the petitioner, almost 150 Rohingya refugee families, staying in the camps at Delhi and Haryana’s Mewat district did not have access to basic medical care, clean water, nutritious food or secure shelters.
The petitioner sought humanitarian assistance to ensure the survival and wellbeing of the refugees as guaranteed under the Constitution.
The Rohingyas, numbering about eight lakh, constituted a sizeable minority of Myanmar’s population of 60 million.
They suffered due to the ethnic riots that broke out in June 2012, forcing many of them to come to India.
