India sends 1000 tonnes of relief material for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

The material was loaded on Indian Naval Ship Gharial, which will deliver it to Chittagong in Bangladesh where thousands of Rohinya refugees have come in from Myanmar.

Rohingya Muslim women, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, stretch their arms out to collect sanitary products distributed by aid agencies near Balukhali refugee camp, Bangladesh. (File photo | AP) 

NEW DELHI: India on Saturday despatched around 1,000 tonnes of relief material, which can cater for around 62,000 families, for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, an official statement said.

The material was loaded on Indian Naval Ship Gharial, which will deliver it to Chittagong in Bangladesh where thousands of Rohinya refugees have come in from Myanmar.

The relief material is in customised family packets, which contain essential items including rations, clothes and mosquito nets.

Earlier, relief material was also sent to Bangladesh through Indian Air Force's C-17 transport aircraft, to address the humanitarian crisis emanating from the big scale migration of Rohingya Muslims.

According to UN, almost 430,000 Rohingyas have fled Myanmar and crossed to Bangladesh since August 25.