Over 750 Sri Lankan refugees who were living in India have returned to Sri Lanka with the monetary support from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) this year.
According to an UNHCR official so far this year over 750 persons have returned with the help of the UNHCR to Sri Lanka from the special camps across Tamil Nadu in India and over 100 applications are being processed for August. The UNHCR pays the air fare for their travel and another 4,000 rupees allowance for road transportation from Colombo to their home towns, an UNHCR official has told India's PTI news agency. The refugees start their travel from Chennai or Tiruchirapalli airports, whichever is closer to their camp. A total of 1,728 Sri Lankan refugees returned under UNHCR facilitated voluntary repatriation programme in 2011 and 2,040 have returned in 2010. The UNHCR recently said that the return of Sri Lankan refugees has been affected due to the suspension of the Colombo-Tuticorin ferry service. Once the returnees reach their final destination in the country, they can approach one of UNHCR's five offices in the North and East to obtain a kit of basic household supplies. The returns are part of a voluntary, facilitated repatriation programme, supported by the governments of both India and Sri Lanka. According to Indian Government figures, some 69,000 Sri Lankan refugees were living in 112 camps in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
No comments:
Post a Comment