Sixteen Sri Lankan nationals have reached Tamil Nadu and more are expected to arrive in the coming days. The island nation is facing an economic meltdown with shortage of fuel and essential commodities
This couple in their early 20s fled Sri Lanka with their four-month-old son. They were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard. Image Courtesy: @IndiaCoastGuard/Twitter
The economic crisis is Sri Lanka is worsening with the inflation in February 2022 rising to 17.5 per cent, the highest since 2015. The ripple effect is now being felt in India, as Sri Lankans have started fleeing the country.
Sixteen refugees, including eight children, from the regions of Jaffna and Mannar reached Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. The first six refugees were stranded near an island near Rameswaram and were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard. The next batch of ten arrived late at night. They are all Tamils.
The island nation has been hit by unemployment and is seeing a shortage of food. Prices of essential items like milk and bread are soaring, causing panic in Tamil families. Many believe they have no choice but to take illegal ferries to escape the economic crisis. Reports in the media indicate that is just the beginning. More refugees from the Tamil-dominated regions in northern Sri Lanka are expected to arrive in India in the coming weeks. The number could go up to 2000, according to a report in The Indian Express.
The tedious journey to Tamil Nada
The first six people attempted to land at Dhanushkodi jetty in southern Tamil Nadu but were forced to alight midway by the boatman who was ferrying them. This, despite the fact, that they paid him Rs 50,000 for the journey. The refugees were stranded near a sand dune, when the Coast Guard rescued them after a tip-off from the local police.
R Rajendran and Mary Clarin planned an escape along with their four-month-old son. The couples in the early 20s told The Times of India that they did not have jobs. With the prices of milk almost tripling and LPG cylinders becoming unavailable, the family could barely make ends meet. They were accompanied by a mother of two, Dory Aniston, who has fled the country leaving her husband behind.
The Coast Guard have carried out an initial probe and confirmed that the Sri Lankan citizens were residents of Jaffna and Kokupadaiyan. “All six persons were brought to Mandapam hoverport safely. A joint interrogation was carried out upon their arrival. On completion of the interrogation, they were handed over to the Mandapam Coastal Security Group for further action,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
With each passing day, the situation is worsening in the Sri Lanka, pushing locals to take desperate measures. The second group of 10 people who left the Mannar coast spent Rs 3 lakh on the journey, reports The News Minute. The boat developed a technical snag and they spent a day repairing it in the middle of the sea.
Soaring prices of rice, sugar
V S Sivakaran, an activist based in Mannar, told The Indian Express that this may be the beginning of an exodus. “There is panic and anxiety about tomorrow. It is almost certain that the price of rice will touch Rs 500 per kg in another week. Today, it is Rs 290 per of rice, Rs 290 per of sugar and Rs 790 for 400 grams of milk powder,” he told the newspaper. He added that many Sri Lankans have contacts in Tamil Nadu with some having relatives staying in refugee camps.
Around six lakh Lankan refugees live in camps across Tamil Nadu and 30,000 live outside the camps. Most came to in India after the civil war in the 1980s.
Inside Sri Lanka
The financial crisis in the country started because of a shortfall in foreign currency, leaving traders unable to finance imports. The tourism sector, which is the key source of foreign exchange, has been badly hit because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There’s a rise in the prices of key commodities. Petroleum prices have skyrocketed and three elderly people died waiting in queues for fuel on Saturday. A shortage of papers has forced the island nation to cancel all examinations.
The country depends largely on imports for essentials like sugar, pulses, cereals, and pharmaceuticals. With a shortage in foreign currency, the country is unable to pay up for these imports. Sri Lanka borrowed from China to finance its infrastructure projects and is now facing huge debts. Beijing, however, has refused to assist the country.
On 17 March, India extended a $1-billion credit facility to Sri Lanka. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had also said that the government would work with the International Monetary Fund to manage the crisis.
With inputs from agencies
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