They also made a call to the Myanmar government demanding its immediate response to protect the rights its own citizen.

”Amidst news sources revealing massive Chinese and Indian investment on the Rakhaine state, we call on the government of Myanmar to give utmost priority to protecting the rights of its people,” said the ALRD and other NGOs in a joint statement at a press conference at Brac Centre Inn in the city on Thursday.

Dr Ujjaini Halim, executive director of IMSE, India, readout the written statement sharing their experience and findings of the field visits to different Rohingya camps in Ukhiya of Cox’s Bazar.

She said the Rohingya people deserve to live in peace in their homeland without fear of persecution and oppression.

The NGO groups observed that due to influx of about 1.2 million Rohingya in Bangladesh, the local community has been affected in different ways and environment there are severely being damaged by cutting woods.

They said most of the people in host communities are living with modest incomes from informal agriculture and non-agriculture work.

“Yet because of sudden surge of people into Ukhiya, prices of basic commodities such as fish have soared. Their purchasing power has gone down,” reads the statement.

Also, the price of local labour has gone down from Tk 500 to Tk 300 due to availability of Rohingya people as cheaper labour.

Shamsul Huda, executive director of ALRD, Nathaniel Don Marquez, executive director of ANGOC, Philippines, Rowshan H Jahan Moni, deputy executive director of ALRD and Denise Musni, project officer of ANGOC also spoke on the occasion.