Chennai: Eight Sri Lankan nationals including an 18-month-old baby arrived at Rameswaram on Tuesday amid the worst economic crisis in the island nation. With the migration of eight other Sri Lankans, the total number of migrants from the island nation crossed the 100-mark.
According to a report on Hindu, the eight members who reached Rameswaram belonged to three different families in Jaffna. They had paid Rs 5 lakh to a fiber boat operator for reaching Tamil Nadu coasts.
Upon their arrival, the Coastal Security Group police took them into custody. The eight members were identified as Kamalarani, Selvaraja, Vijayakanth, Iynkaren, Nilani, Sasikala, Lavendern and Kathir.
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Talking about the ordeal, Sasikala said, the common man was put to suffer due to the unavailability of food, medicine and other essential items. She said that a kg of rice cost Rs 400 and they were given only 2 liters of kerosene per family after a six-day wait.
People owning boats could not even go fishing due to low fuel stock. Even government hospitals do not have essential drugs, she said.
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On the journey to Rameswaram, she said that they were taken to an unidentified island in Sri Lanka and from there they were made to trek through the thorny jungle and then take the boat.
Meanwhile, an elderly woman from Sri Lanka who was found unconscious in Rameswaram died at Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai on July 2.