Fifteen Sri Lankan Tamils reach Indian shores seeking refuge; total number rises to 75

Fifteen Sri Lankan Tamils, including a 9-month pregnant woman, reached Tamil Nadu’s Dhanushkodi seeking refuge from the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. Till date, 75 Sri Lankan Tamils have arrived in India to escape the economic crisis.

The group reached Dhanushkodi on Monday morning after leaving Sri Lanka’s Jaffna city on a fibre boat during the night. Rameswaram marine police arrived at the spot and took them to Mandapam police station.

The group said that the cost of food items such as rice, dhal, wheat have increased exponentially in Sri Lanka. There is also a shortage of medicine in government hospitals. In private hospitals, people have to spend Rs 4000 just to treat a fever.

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Yogan, who is from Jaffna, said that the price of rice has reached Rs 300 per kg. “A kilogram of green chilli costs Rs 1000 and you will need Rs 3000 to feed a family of four twice a day. We get paid Rs 1000 per day and we could no longer sustain ourselves in that state. Unable to see our kids go hungry, we decided to cross the sea,”stated Guhan, who spent Rs 20000 per person for the ride.

After initial inquiries were conducted, Mandapam Police provided them with a place to stay at the Mandapam refugee camp.