Humanitarian aid worth Rs 74 cr shipped to SL from Thoothukudi

MADURAI: Large quantities of essential commodities were shipped from Thoothukudi seaport to the crisis-ridden Sri Lanka on humanitarian grounds on Saturday.

The humanitarian aid includes 16,600 tonnes of rice, 200 tonnes of Aavin milk powder and 39 tonnes of life saving medicines. The vessel hauling the vast volume of relief material worth Rs 74 crore in total was flagged off at VO Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi as per the directive of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.

The shipment bound for Sri Lanka was flagged off jointly by Thoothukudi MP, MK Kanimozhi, Tamil Nadu Minister for Minorities Welfare and Non Resident Tamils Welfare Gingee KS Masthan, Social Welfare Minister P Geetha Jeevan, Fisheries Minister Anitha R Radhakrishnan, Commissioner of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non Resident Tamils, Jacintha Lazarus, Thoothukudi Collector K Senthil Raj and Mayor of Corporation Jagan Periyasamy.

Kanimozhi said considering the worsening crisis situation in Sri Lanka, where food is becoming scarce, from where people are reeling under, the Chief Minister during the Assembly session earlier on April 29 passed a special resolution insisting the Centre to make arrangements for shipping the essential humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka.

A high-level committee comprising officials from Non Resident Tamils Welfare Department, Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation, Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation and Aavin to execute the task of shipping the aid.

To lend a helping hand to people struggling through the tough economic times in Sri Lanka, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister earlier forwarded a letter to the Union Government seeking shipping facility. Citing these, Kanimozhi wished Sri Lanka could bring back peace, economic and political stability.

Earlier, in the first phase, a cargo vessel hauling relief aid including 9,045 tonnes of rice at Rs 30 crore, 50 tonnes of Aavin milk powder at Rs 1.5 crore and eight tonnes of medicines at Rs 1.44 crore sailed off to Sri Lanka from Chennai Port on May 18 when the Chief Minister flagged off.

At the second phase, as many as 15,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid worth Rs 67.70 crore were shipped off Thoothukudi seaport on June 22, sources said.