Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday, September 14, inaugurated a special camp for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Dindigul district, where over 321 families from various camps in the district are going to be shifted. According to the reports, the construction of the camp began eight months ago and was built at a cost of Rs 17.17 crore, at Thottanuthu in Dindigul. It is said to have various features including an anganwadi, water tank, library, children’s park, community kitchen, playground and other amenities.
The new special camp has been constructed close to the rehabilitation camp that previously operated on rented land in Thottanuthu. Now, families from the Adiyanuthu and Gopalpatti camps will also be able to live in the newly constructed camp and avail its facilities. The new camp was inaugurated via an online event, which also saw several officials including Cooperation Minister I Periyasamy, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies R Sakkarapani, Minister of Minorities Welfare, Non-Resident Tamils Welfare, Refugees & Evacuees Gingee KS Masthan, and Dindigul Collector Dr S Visakan in participation.
According to The Hindu, Tamil Nadu has nearly 108 rehabilitation camps in 29 districts. On many occasions, social activists have highlighted the lack of basic necessities inside the camps, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government had promised to improve the living condition of the people living there. On August 27 last year, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced a Rs 317 crore welfare package for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in the state, which included building new houses. More such revamped rehabilitation camps with multiple amenities, like the one in Dindigul, are expected to be constructed.
It is to be noted that the DMK’s election manifesto for the 2021 Assembly elections mentioned many schemes to improve the living conditions of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who migrated to Tamil Nadu at various occasions during the prolonged civil war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan Army. The manifesto also said that if DMK was elected to power, it would pressurise the Union government to include Sri Lanka in the list of countries mentioned in Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, so that Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in India for many years would also get citizenship.