News
Economic crisis driving more and more Lankans to seek asylum in India; 295 so far this year
By Dinasena Rathugamage
Acting on a request from the Indian security authorities, Sri Lankan police are conducting investigations in respect of seven Sri Lankans who reached Dhanushkodi from Mannar on 25 Nov., seeking asylum in India.
They paid Rs 300,000 for their passage across the Palk Bay that took about three hours. They were dropped at the Third Sandbar near the Dhanushkodi islet in Rameswaram by a boat operator in the early hours of Nov 27. The boatman returned to Mannar.
Indian media reports said that following the completion of routine questioning the Indian authorities took all seven, identified as Nagaraja (42), Vanithini (38), Anojan (13), Kajeevan (9), Tanushika (4), Ajanthan (18) and Keesalin (17) to a special detention centre and took action to check with Sri Lanka police as to their antecedents.
Preliminary inquiries revealed that the seven persons belonged to one family.
According to Indian media the family told Rameswaram police that they were struggling to make ends meet due to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. As they could not repay their mounting debts, they decided to flee the nation and reach Indian shores.
They would be shifted to the Mandampam refugee camp only after obtaining clearance reports from the Lankan police.
It’s been noted that numerous Sri Lankan criminals and individuals evading the law have entered Indian shores posing as refugees. Therefore, Indian authorities will grant asylum seeker status only after reviewing clearance reports provided by the Sri Lankan police, sources said.
As of Sunday (03), from Jan 1, a total of 295 Sri Lankans have sought asylum in India by arriving there via boats this year, and 26 of them were subsequently returned to Sri Lanka.
The government, under heavy Opposition fire over inclusion of a sex website in the Grade 6 English module, as well as overall education reforms, has decided to put on hold reforms in respect of Grade 6.
Cabinet Spokesman and Media and Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa announced the government decision yesterday (13) at the post-Cabinet media briefing at the Information Department.
According to him, the decision had been taken at the previous day’s Cabinet meeting, chaired by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Dr. Jayatissa said that education reforms pertaining to Garde 6 had been put on hold until 2027.
The Minister said that other proposed education reforms would be implemented as planned. The Minister said that action would be taken against those responsible for the inclusion of a link to a sex website following investigations conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department and the National Education Institute.
The SJB and several other political parties, as well as civil society groups, have accused the government of promoting an LGBTQ agenda, through the proposed education reforms.
The Opposition grouping Mahajana Handa, on Monday, made representations to the Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatta Chapter regarding the controversial reforms, while urging their intervention to halt the project.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday (13) vowed to go ahead with his government’s agenda, regardless of the destruction caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Emphasising the responsibility on the part of all to contribute to the post-Ditwah recovery efforts, President Dissanayake said that he would have complete faith in the public service.
The President said so at the launch of the re-building Sri Lanka project at the BMICH yesterday.
The JVP and NPP leader said that he wouldn’t take advantage of the death and destruction caused by the cyclone or use the situation as an excuse to reverse their agenda or weaken it.
President Dissanayake said that in spite of many calling for amending the then Budget, in view of the cyclone, the government presented the proposals that were agreed before the disaster struck.
The United States has announced that it will provide the Sri Lanka Air Force with 10 US Navy TH-57 helicopters free of charge.
The announcement was made by outgoing US Ambassador Julie Chung, who stated, on social media, that the helicopters would be transferred under the United States’ Excess Defence Articles programme. The aircraft are Bell 206 Sea Ranger helicopters previously operated by the US Navy.
US sources said that the transfer was intended to strengthen Sri Lanka’s disaster response capabilities, following the devastating cyclone that struck the island at the end of 2025 and killed more than 600 people. US officials have framed the move as a humanitarian measure aimed at improving aerial rescue and relief operations.
Fair weather will prevail except for a few showers in the Uva, Eastern, Western and Central provinces and in Galle, Matara and Rathnapura districts
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