REFUGEE

CHENNAI: In a far-reaching move aimed at giving a full sense of belonging to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees staying in Tamil Nadu, chief minister M .Karunanidhi on Thursday announced a Rs 100 crore package for their welfare, offering them concrete houses, colour television sets and a comprehensive health insurance cover.

With this, he has virtually extended to the refugees all the welfare schemes — for example, marriage assistance of Rs 20,000 to poor girls, free bus passes to school and college students, funeral assistance of Rs 2,500 and tricycles and equipment for the physically disabled — now available to the local population.
Significantly, the four-page communiqué that announced the cabinet decision avoided the word “refugee” and instead using the term “Sri Lankan Tamils residing in Tamil Nadu”.

With these measures, the ruling DMK hopes to endear itself to the global Tamil community, amidst signs that Tamils in Sri Lanka and elsewhere were unhappy with the state’s response to the humanitarian consequences during the last days of the war between the army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Deputy chief minister MK Stalin and other ministers, who inspected 115 camps in the state where more than 73,000 refugees are staying, had submitted their reports to Karunanidhi on Tuesday.