Close to 1,000 residents of the Pooluvapatti Sri Lankan Refugee Camp are a section that can do with some assistance in the time of lockdown. The savings they had had from holding daily jobs has run out and they are teetering on the edge of desperation.
Close to 1,000 residents of the Pooluvapatti Sri Lankan Refugee Camp are a section that can do with some assistance in the time of lockdown. The savings they had had from holding daily jobs has run out and they are teetering on the edge of desperation.
The next two weeks look bleak as they wait for some relief.
Residents of this camp were always able to lead a stable life as most of the men and a few women went out to work. But now, because of the lockdown and the fear of contracting the infection from outsiders, the whole community is confined within the camp.
According to the Camp Head V. Thilagarajan, the houses in the camp are located very close to each other.
“Even if a single person from the camp gets infected it is a threat to the rest, because of the proximity of the dwellings. We have restricted all movement from the camp. Only those needing to buy essentials are allowed out of the camp,” he says.
Social distancing, hand washing and general cleanliness are followed by the residents. The youth unit of the camp educates the residents about the rules and is also responsible for the application of some traditional practices such as the sprinkling of turmeric water, use of neem leaves in strategic points, etc.
Three of the four exits of the camp have been sealed. A provision has been made at one exit for someone to leave the camp after making an entry in a register about the nature of his visit. This is followed strictly and serves as a deterrent to youngsters who find an excuse to ride out on their two-wheelers. This restriction has put an end to any scope of employment during the lockdown period.
For emergencies – medical or otherwise – Thilagarajan has tied up with a person who lives close by and has a car. The person drives anyone in need and drops them back in the camp. The cost of fuel is borne by the camp.
Y. Ramayanthini, a 32-year-old staff nurse at the Madhampatti hospital has not gone to work since the lockdown began. “Rules are very strict here and so even people like me are not allowed to go to work. There is a fear that we might get infected and in turn infect others in the camp. We all obey the rules and stay homebound,” she says.
But there is a problem of lack of funds and depletion of resources. Those with ration card were able to collect the Rs. 1,000 cash assistance and provisions under the Government scheme, recently. For a family of four or five, this is not going to last long. Among the 316 families, almost 75 do not have a ration card. These families became beneficiaries of the dry ration that an individual came forward to offer.
The question is how long will this last? Ramayanthini says that many poor families have almost reached the verge of starvation. There are around 350 children, babies and infants too. There are the aged and the sick. Without external – private or Government – assistance, these families believe that there is no way they can sustain for another 15 days, if not more.
The camp has been in Pooluvapatti for the last 30 years, and there has never been such a situation that has stripped them of their savings and resources, they say. The condition of those living in two other smaller camps, in Mettupalayam and Aliyar, is not different.
V. Thilagarajan can be reached on 99941-09699.
The next two weeks look bleak as they wait for some relief.
Residents of this camp were always able to lead a stable life as most of the men and a few women went out to work. But now, because of the lockdown and the fear of contracting the infection from outsiders, the whole community is confined within the camp.
According to the Camp Head V. Thilagarajan, the houses in the camp are located very close to each other.
“Even if a single person from the camp gets infected it is a threat to the rest, because of the proximity of the dwellings. We have restricted all movement from the camp. Only those needing to buy essentials are allowed out of the camp,” he says.
Social distancing, hand washing and general cleanliness are followed by the residents. The youth unit of the camp educates the residents about the rules and is also responsible for the application of some traditional practices such as the sprinkling of turmeric water, use of neem leaves in strategic points, etc.
Three of the four exits of the camp have been sealed. A provision has been made at one exit for someone to leave the camp after making an entry in a register about the nature of his visit. This is followed strictly and serves as a deterrent to youngsters who find an excuse to ride out on their two-wheelers. This restriction has put an end to any scope of employment during the lockdown period.
For emergencies – medical or otherwise – Thilagarajan has tied up with a person who lives close by and has a car. The person drives anyone in need and drops them back in the camp. The cost of fuel is borne by the camp.
Y. Ramayanthini, a 32-year-old staff nurse at the Madhampatti hospital has not gone to work since the lockdown began. “Rules are very strict here and so even people like me are not allowed to go to work. There is a fear that we might get infected and in turn infect others in the camp. We all obey the rules and stay homebound,” she says.
But there is a problem of lack of funds and depletion of resources. Those with ration card were able to collect the Rs. 1,000 cash assistance and provisions under the Government scheme, recently. For a family of four or five, this is not going to last long. Among the 316 families, almost 75 do not have a ration card. These families became beneficiaries of the dry ration that an individual came forward to offer.
The question is how long will this last? Ramayanthini says that many poor families have almost reached the verge of starvation. There are around 350 children, babies and infants too. There are the aged and the sick. Without external – private or Government – assistance, these families believe that there is no way they can sustain for another 15 days, if not more.
The camp has been in Pooluvapatti for the last 30 years, and there has never been such a situation that has stripped them of their savings and resources, they say. The condition of those living in two other smaller camps, in Mettupalayam and Aliyar, is not different.
V. Thilagarajan can be reached on 99941-09699.