1 kg rice costs Rs 250 in Lanka, says refugee
Explaining the struggle for survival that forced them to come over to Tamil Nadu as refugees, Suseekala, a 37-year-old from Selvapuram in Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka, said a kilogram of rice now costs Rs 250, making it unaffordable to the majority of the people.
MADURAI: The prices of all essential commodities like milk, sugar, dhal, etc. have been rising every day, said Suseekala, who reached here with her husband Guganeswaran, a lathe worker who was rendered jobless and their two boys.
The family was among the nine people on the boat who were dropped in hip-deep water off Dhanushkodi coast around 2 am on Sunday.
Sudha, another refugee who came over with her husband and two children, said they were finding it difficult to find any livelihood there in Sri Lanka. Finally, they scraped together Rs 25,000 per person to pay the boat owner to clandestinely drop them near Tamil Nadu.
The latest influx on Sunday came after a brief lull. So far, 39 refugees have landed near the Tamil Nadu coast and all of them have been taken to the Mandapam camp.
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