Fleeing the economic crisis-ridden Sri Lanka, a fresh batch of five families, comprising 19 members including six children, reached Dhanuskodi illegally in two vessels in the early hours of Sunday. This is the largest group of Sri Lankan nationals to have fled to India since the outbreak of the economic crisis.
The men and women said they had been starving for the last three to four days because of the high prices of essentials. “The dwelling in which we stayed at Trincomalee was given by the government after the 2004 tsunami. After taking money from some lenders, we paid for the boat and reached here,” said Srikaran, a Sri Lankan Tamil.
The tired looking men said they paid nearly ₹2 lakh for all the 19 persons to take the boat ride from Sri Lanka. “Now, we have nothing with us. We plan to stay for some time and work in and around here for livelihood. We can go back only when the situation improves, and we are looking for assistance from the Tamil Nadu government,” said Diloxon, 26, of Uppuveli, Trincomalee.
