Rohingyas in Balapaur battle surviving in ghettos

A stream of drain water flows through the ‘kacha’ road leading to the Rohingya settlements in the Royal Colony at Balapur. Since five years the colony is known among locals for its ‘Burmawaleh logah’ (Myanmar nationals) who crossed two borders and found their way to the city.

“We came five years ago and are happy that we can stay here without fear. Though our earnings are meagre we manage with it,” says Noorul Ahmed, who lives along with his wife and four children. His children study at a local madrasa which imparts free education to refugees.

The settlement has several camps with 20 to 25 dwellings each and has come up on open plots owned by affluent people who have constructed small 10x10-foot-sized rooms and rented it out. Of the seven camps here a few have asbestos rooms while at some other camps the refugees themselves have put up huts. The families pay rents between `900 and `1,200 a month.

“Before the trouble in Myanmar our situation was comparatively better. Somehow we crossed over into India and are staying here,” says a woman who picked up the local language. The Balapur and adjoining Hafeezbabanagar localities were the first destination for the refugees in Hyderabad. Later on they moved to Kishanbagh and MM Pahadi.

“In Kishanbagh, they are staying in small one roomed houses on the banks of the Musi and earn their livelihood by doing menial jobs,” says Mazher Hussain, executive director of COVA.

Prasahanthi Bathina, a project coordinator from Save the Children, the NGO working in the Rohingya settlement, says that the number of children here are high.

“We run a preschool for children below six years. The elder children are admitted in a private school. The children are malnourished. So we organise check-ups and conduct immunization camps,” she explained.

THE SETTLEMENT has several camps with 20 to 25 dwellings. Each has come up on open plots owned by affluent people who have constructed small 10x10foot-sized room and rented it out.