CALCUTTA, India, June 7.-The number of East Pakistani refugees flooding into India reportedly neared five million today. Cholera in epidemic proportions threatened this squalid capital of West Bengal state.

In New Delhi, Health Minister Uma Shanker Dixit told Parliament today that, as of Friday, the number of refugees was 4,738,054. But some observers felt that the total now could have passed five million.

Mr. Dixit said the central Government's information indicated that 1,250 refugees had died in the cholera epidemic up to Friday and that 9,500 others were in hospitals.

However, informed sources in Calcutta said on Saturday that the death toll was about 8,000. Government health officials said they had no precise figures, but agreed it could be as high as 8,000.

Twelve new cases of cholera were reported today at a big refugee camp near the Calcutta airport, bringing to about 100 the reported number of victims of the disease in the camp.

23 DEATHS AT CAMP

Twenty-three deaths have been reported at the camp- mostly infants and old persons-since the first of 40,000 refugees started to gather there 12 days ago. The deaths were variously attributed to disease, exhaustion and malnutrition, and it was not known precisely how many were caused by cholera.

No new cholera victims were reported at a second camp within the Calcutta city limits since six persons were taken to a hospital late last week.

But the disease, which attack the gastro-intestinal system, was still reported raging in epidemic proportions in other camps throughout West Bengal.

Roy Chowdhury, administrator of the camp near the airport, said today that work would begin tomorrow on a new camp about two miles east of his installation. It was expected to house 15,000 to 20,000 refugees who now seek shelter from the steaming monsoon conditions under trees and bushes along the roads to Calcutta.

The new camp is being set up at a Boy Scout center despite the wish of the West Bengal Government to move all refugees at least 20 miles from the city, for both political and health reasons.

REFUGEES POSE THREAT

The population of Calcutta has swollen to more than 12 million with the influx of refugees.

The refugees pose a grave political threat to the Government, which is spending millions of dollars to aid the fleeing East Pakistanis-money desperately needed by millions of poverty-stricken Indians.

There have already been complaints that the refugees, who are receiving a free daily food ration from the Government, are seeking jobs and driving down the price of labor which, in many cases, only keeps Indians at subsistence level at the best of times.

The refugee flow began after the Pakistani Army's crackdown March 25 and its drive against East Pakistani secessionists.

In New Delhi, Ken Dixit, who was speaking during a special session of parliament on the cholera outbreak, said that as of Friday 2,722,561 refugees were being housed in camps in the states of West Bengal, Assam and Bihar and the territories of Meghalaya and Tripura. An additional 2,015,493 were outside camps, mainly sleeping in the open, he said.