With people from Tamil-speaking areas of Sri Lanka arriving in Tamil Nadu illegally in the wake of the economic crisis in the island nation, the State government has requested the Union government to grant permission for “special provisions to give temporary asylum” to them, as in the case of the refugees staying in camps.

The Chief Minister made the request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 1, contending that it was the country’s “duty to consider those arriving from Sri Lanka and seeking asylum in India as fellow humans and embrace them,” an official release said on Friday.

Mr. Stalin on Friday virtually interacted with “asylum-seekers from Sri Lanka” who are being housed in a camp at Mandapam in Ramanathapuram.

So far, a total of 39 Tamil-speaking Sri Lankans, including 11 women, 16 children and an infant, have reached the shores of Tamil Nadu and are staying at the camp.

Currently, 58,547 from 19,233 Sri Lankan Tamil families are staying in 108 rehabilitation camps in 29 districts across the State.

Food and all essential supplies are being provided to them by the Tamil Nadu government.

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