Basket Village USA
The people leave after being told by the manager of a Ceylon Petroleum Corporation gas station that they have run out of kerosene in Colombo. (Reuters)
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin spoke by phone with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and expressed his deep concern over the plight of Tamils in Lanka who have been hit hard by the economic crisis never seen before in their country, according to an official statement.
The chief minister told Jaishankar that Tamil Nadu is ready to ship rice, pulses and life-saving drugs from Thoothukudi port in Sri Lanka.
Stalin informed Jaishankar that the proposed decision was based on humanitarian grounds, considering the welfare of Tamils in the island nation, including Tamils of Indian descent, known as “Malayaga Tamizhargal”. The aid is intended for Tamils, including those in Colombo and the northern and eastern provinces.
Sri Lankan medical group warns of catastrophic shortages
Sri Lanka’s national medical association warned on Thursday that hospitals will be unable to provide even emergency services in the coming weeks due to critical shortages of medicines and medical equipment caused by the economic crisis in the countries, leading to catastrophic death tolls if supplies are not replenished.
The Sri Lanka Medical Association sent a letter to Rajapaksa on Thursday saying that hospitals have already decided to cut services such as routine surgeries and limit the use of available medical equipment to treating life-threatening illnesses.
Unless supplies are urgently replenished, “in a few weeks or even days, emergency treatment will also not be possible. This will result in a catastrophic number of deaths,” the letter reads. — AP
