Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic crisis is the worst in its history, putting its citizens under extreme hardships. From school exams are being canceled owing to a shortage of paper and printer ink, a cup of tea costing Rs. 100 (Sri Lankan Rupees) and even senior citizens dying while waiting at fuel stations, the situation is deteriorating with every passing day. The situation is getting worse with every passing day.
As a result, a group of Sri Lankan nationals have fled the island nation, which is in dire financial straits, and reached Indian shores illegally. Six Sri Lankans took the extremely risky step of undertaking an illegal 50km-long boat trip from Pesalai, Mannar in the northwest of the country to Rameswaram in India’s Tamil Nadu. Indian coast guards have received reports regarding the illegal migration of six Lankan nationals to India.
Tuesday morning, the Coast Guard launched a hovercraft to patrol the area. Within two hours of searching the fourth island of Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, the craft’s crew spotted six individuals. An investigation revealed that the group, comprised of a man, two women, and three children, is from Jaffna and Kokupadaiyan, in Sri Lanka’s northern tip.
They left on a fishing boat in the wee hours of Tuesday, around 1:30am, and landed on Rameswaram, the fourth island, in the late night hours of Monday (10:30pm). They fled the excessive rise in prices of essential commodities in their country by taking the illegal, risky boat trip across the Palk Strait. All six people reached Mandapam Hoverport safely and were interrogated upon arrival, after which they were turned over to the Coastal Security Group, Mandapam, for further legal action.
Sri Lanka, an Indian Ocean littoral state with a population of nearly 22 million, is reeling from a crippling economic crisis due to a severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves. This has led to shortages in food, fuel, and even medicine. On top of that, the country is also experiencing severe power outages.
The Indian government has recently agreed to provide a $1 billion credit line to buy food and medicine on top of a $500 million facility already granted. Sri Lanka announced last week it would seek a bailout from the IMF. According to reports, Sri Lanka has also requested a new loan from China, as well as buyer’s credit worth USD2.5 billion. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has offered Sri Lanka $ 2.8 billion in aid.
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