India offers Rs. 5b for displaced persons - Thondaman

by P. KRISHNASWAMY

Minister of Youth Empowerment and Socio Economic Development and CWC General Secretary Arumugan Thondaman who recently went to India on a goodwill mission said that the Indian centre has pledged five billion rupees assistance to the Government towards the post conflict phase in rehabilitation, resettlement and welfare measures for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi and other leaders whom he met in Chennai also assured to assist the IDPs, he said.

During his meeting with the Tamil Nadu CM, he renewed President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s earlier invitation for the CM to visit Sri Lanka to see for himself the humanitarian and welfare assistance being extended to the IDPs and the invitation drew a positive response from the CM, Thondaman said and added that it was very likely that they will pay a visit soon.

During his visit together with several other Deputy Ministers and CWC frontliners, he met Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Joint Secretary of the External Affairs Minister N. Moorthy in New Delhi and held discussions on the present post-conflict scenario where all possible efforts were being made by the Government towards the welfare of the IDPs and their early resettlement.

In Chennai, he met CM Karunanidhi, his daughter M. K. Kanimozhi MP and Union Shipping Minister G. K. Vasan, son of former Tamil Nadu Congress Party leader G. K. Mooppanar and held discussions. They expressed concern over the welfare of the IDPs and also called for an early political settlement to the ethnic problem.

During his discussions, he said that the Indian origin plantation community was lagging behind in the socio-economic and educational spheres and they should be also considered as beneficiaries of assistance being extended by India.

India has already donated 20 buses, of a total 50 buses pledged to operate services in difficult plantation areas, provided eight trainees to the Thondaman Vocational Centre and a hospital at Dickoya which is being equipped with all modern health facilities with more facilities in the pipeline. The buses are being utilised mainly to transport schoolchildren and teachers in difficult plantation areas.

The CWC has also called for the extension of the services of the trainees, the Minister said. Requests were also made for assistance towards improving socio-economic uplift, youth empowerment and educational facilities, the Minister said.