REFUGEE

CHENNAI: Their long list of demands had included good housing and toilet facilities, adequate water supply and driving licences. But if chief

minister M Karunanidhi succeeds in gettting the Centre's nod, the free colour televisions would adorn living rooms in their dilapidated homes and they would be beneficiaries of the health scheme now extended to poor people.

Karunanidhi, who recently instructed his ministerial colleagues to visit all the 115 refugee camps dotting the state to find out their conditions and needs of the inmates, on Tuesday said the state cabinet would meet on Thursday to discuss and decide on various demands put forth by the refugees. Karunanidhi, who recently instructed his ministerial colleagues to visit all the 115 refugee camps dotting the state to find out their conditions and needs of the inmates, on Tuesday said the state cabinet would meet on Thursday to discuss and decide on various demands put forth by the refugees.

Led by the deputy chief minister MK Stalin, ministers including Veerapandi S Arumugam, Durai Murugan, Pongalur Palanisamy, KKSSR Ramachandran, AV Velu and Thangam Thennarasu submitted their reports to the chief minister Tuesday.

On October 31, Karunanidhi said the government would allocate Rs 12 crore to create basic amenities in the refugee camps as it was awaiting Centre's response for the Rs 16 crore proposal in 2006. In anticipation of Central funds, the state government had already allocated Rs 5 crore this year. More than 70,000 refugees are residing in the camps spread across the state.

According to official sources, the public department is in the process of compiling the inputs given by the ministers. Besides, adequate water supply, toilet facility and repairing the electrical equipments, the refugees most of whom have been residing in the state for nearly two decades have sought other facilities.

"Refugee youth want driving licences as it would give them a means of livelihood," said a minister. The refugees wanted the government to extend the Kalaignar Insurance Scheme and distribution of colour TV sets. Some refugees appealed to the government to incorporate them under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Stating that young refugees were keen on pursuing higher education, a minister who visited a couple of camps said that some of the parents were also keen on educational loans. Noting that there was no big hassle for the students upto schooling, they appealed to the government to find ways to ensure that their children get admissions in professional colleges especially medical institutions run by the government.

"Most of them wanted more freedom to move around outside the camps," observed a minister