Eight more refugees from Sri Lanka, including four children, were rescued from Arichalmunai on Sunday. However, their statement that they had been stranded in Indian waters at Arichalmunai for the past three days raised eyebrows regarding the surveillance activities of the Central and State agencies.
When personnel from the Indian Coast Guard spotted the refugees stranded at Arichalmunai, they intercepted and brought them to the shores in a hovercraft on Sunday.
According to Chandrakumar, 36, and his wife Delsi, 35, of Killinochi district, Sri Lanka, they reached Arichalmunai on an illegal vessel late on Thursday. “The boatmen returned in a hurry after dropping us off. Under the cover of darkness, we did not know where exactly we were. With just 5 litres of potable water and a few packets of biscuits, we managed to survive till the ICG personnel rescued us,” Ms. Delsi said.
The situation in Sri Lanka, according to the refugees, was very bad. “We have lost everything. There are no savings. After selling whatever goods we could, we managed to raise about 1 lakh Sri Lankan rupees with which we paid the boatmen. We were so thirsty, that we used up what little water we had in less than an hour. For almost two days, we drank salt water, and there was no one to come to our aid in Arichalmunai,” she said.
“Early morning on Sunday, the hovercraft rescued us. We thank the Indian Coast Guard and the Marine Police,” Ms. Delsi added.
Along with Chandrakumar and Delsi, their seven-year-old son Venuson and two-month-old daughter Praveenason were taken to the Marine Police station. Kirubakaran, 30, his wife Nishanthi, 28, and their children Deepika, 9, and Rakshika, 4, from Jaffna were also rescued. A Marine Police officer said they would be handed over to the officials at the Mandapam Rehabilitation Centre.
With the arrival of eight persons on Sunday, the number of refugees has increased to 134, officials said, and added that one aged woman had died after an illness at the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai.
A fishermen leader in Rameswaram said for the last eight days, there was no fishing activity due to the rough weather. “At least, when the fishermen ventured into the Palk Strait, they would notice stranded refugees and inform authorities,” he added.
Only on Saturday night, about 700 fishermen set sail into the sea from Rameswaram, and it was baffling that they did not notice the Sri Lankan refugees at Arichalmunai, he said.
