Three more Sri Lankan Tamils land at Dhanushkodi

MADURAI: Three more Tamil refugees, a woman and her two children, from crisis-hit Sri Lanka landed on the shores of Dhanushkodi in the early hours of Wednesday.

During inquiry by multi-agency task forces, the refugees were identified as Varshini (37), her daughter Ninika (11) and son Rangison (4).

After inquiries, S Kanagaraj, Inspector, Coastal Security Group, Rameswaram, said the three refugees, who hailed from Thimilaitheevu, Batticaloa (Matakkalappu) district, Sri Lanka, came by a boat from Mannar and were left in hip deep waters around 5 am off Dhanushkodi coast. However, the boatman returned in a hurry to evade arrest by Indian authorities, with the bag of the refugees. They had reportedly paid Rs 2.5 lakh for the illegal ferry from Sri Lanka to Dhanushkodi. The woman carried some photos, which included a bank passbook carrying the address mentioning a locality in the Island Nation, on the cell phone as proof of her nationality.

With these three, the number of refugees who have reached Tamil Nadu from Lanka has gone up to 42, the Inspector said.

Varshini said the worsening economic crisis in Sri Lanka pushed her family into poverty. The woman, who works as a household maid for a meager pay, said meeting the family’s monthly expense became more challenging as prices of essential commodities, including rice, milk, sugar, dhal and biscuits, have skyrocketed. Hence, we decided to migrate to Tamil Nadu by parting with her two-and-half-sovereign gold chain, she added.

Sources said all the three have been accommodated in Mandapam rehabilitation camp after enquiries.