THOOTHUKUDI: A total of 47 Sri Lankan refugees departed to the island nation from here on Tuesday under United Nations High Commission for Refugees’ (UNHCR) voluntary repatriation programme. This is the second group to leave for Sri Lanka by a ferry after a group of 37 repatriated to their home land on October 11. The refugees boarded a commercial ferry to Colombo from here on Tuesday evening and would reach the island nation after an overnight voyage.Among them, 43 returned from Sri Lanka as refugees, while four were born during their stay in India. Accordingly, two families from Vazhavanthaan refugee camp Tiruchi (10 members), five families from Rayanur refugee camp, Karur (16 members), 6 families from Mandapam refugee camp, Ramanathapuram district (13 members) and one family from Thaapathi refugee camp,Thoothukudi (4 members) arrived at the VOC Port here to board the ferry.Elders received an assistance of `10,000 (SLR), while children received Rs 7,000 (Srilankan rupee). Apart from this elders received `1,200 and children received `750 for their travel from their respective camps to the port. The ferry expenses is free of cost which will be borne by the UNHCR. Besides, Sri Lankan refugees returning under UNHCR’s voluntary repatriation programme would receive a standard reintegration grant as a first step towards helping them restart their lives.
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