Chennai, you were saying about how you look after the SL refugees..
Those newly arrived are quarantined under police custody at the Mandapam Camp. This is a prison house. When we visited, 39 people were confined to the quarantine (nearly 20ft/20ft) for males. Only 2 toilets provided. Among them, Mohan Raj (27) from Kilinochi had been confined from June 17 and Murugaiyan (42) from Mannar from June 27. Food for them is being brought from outside. Food expenses per head per day are Rs 35. During enquiry, those suspected of having links with movements are being sent to special camps. The camp official says that the Indian government has ordered that the refugees should be confined to such quarantines for 30 days.
Problems are similar in other camps. Nowhere the accommodation provided to the refugees is worth living in. All of them were built at the end of 1980s. After that they were not repaired. Mostly, they are 10 ft / 10 ft rooms made of tiles or tar boards. In the camps in Pavalathanoor and Kurukkampatti (Salem dt), both types of houses are there. They are called tile camp and board camp . Nobody can stay in board houses during the day time. Tile houses break and leak during rainy season.
These government-provided houses also have not been given to all. For example, in Pavalathanoor camp, there are 123 families (482 people). There are only 60 government-built houses here. Everywhere, the prevailing situation is that those living for more than 10 years are to build houses on their own if someone gets manned and set up a new household. Even for that, in some camps, the officials are to be bribed (In Athikattanoor camps, this allegation was levelled). |
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