Without Access to Vaccines or Medicines, COVID Adds to Rohingya Refugees' Woes
Delhi's cramped refugee camps leave no space for social distancing.
The Madanpur Khadar refugee camp. Photo: Tarushi Aswani
Rights2 hours ago
New Delhi: Two children fling fistfuls of sand on each other at the Madanpur Khadar camp for Rohingya refugees, oblivious to the brutal pandemic that has claimed more than 2,70,000 lives across the country. As the cracks in their heels hold the sand, they dust themselves off to go inside their tenement houses made of shreds of tarpaulin, without a floor.
The COVID-19 pandemicâs second wave is said to have infected more than 37 lakh people across the country, according to the Union health ministry data. Amidst a scarcity of medical resources, fissures in the healthcare infrastructure, shortage of vaccines to inoculate a population of 130 crore and perceived apathy from the Central Government, communities like these Rohingya refugees are being left to fend for themselves.