Chennai : In line with the resolution adopted in the State Assembly on April 29, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin flagged off the first consignment of humanitarian aid to the economic crisis-hit people of Sri Lanka from the Chennai Port.
The cargo ship “TAN BINH 99″, carrying 9,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) of rice, 200 MT of milk power and 24 MT of medicines, including life saving drugs, totally valued at Rs 45 crore, was flagged by the Chief Minister in the presence of his Cabinet colleagues and port officials.
An official release said the despatch of the first consignment comes in the backdrop of the Centre granting permission after Stalin personally met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 31 at New Delhi and followed it up with a letter and telephonic call to External Affairs Minister Dr.S.Jaishankar seeking permission to send humanitarian aid to the people of Sri Lanka through the Indian Embassy in Colombo.
After theCentre gave the nod on May 13, the cargo ship carrying the first consignment of essentials departed for Lanka after the Chief Minister handed over the sample package to Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai Prof Venkateswaran.
This followed an unanimous resolution adopted in the State Assembly urging the Centre to allow TN to send aid to the people of Sri Lanka, who were hit hard by the economic crisis, was unanimously adopted in the State Assembly. The resolution, moved by Chief Minister M K Stalin, was adopted by voice vote with the support of all parties, including the main Opposition AIADMK.
Moving the resolution, Stalin said he had already wrote a letter to the Centre that the Tamil Nadu government was ready to provide essential items like rice, dhal, milk and life saving drugs to the Sri Lankan people on humanitarian basis. The Chief Minister said the state government has decided to send 40,000 tonnes of rice at a total cost of Rs 80 crore, 137 life saving drugs worth Rs 28 crores and 500 ton milk powder packets worth Rs 15 crore for the people of Sri Lanka.
We want to provide these assistance not only to the Tamils there, but to the entire people of Sri Lanka. We cannot send it directly. It can be sent only through the Indian Embassy in the Island Nation with the permission of the Union government”, he said and recalled the letter written by him to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard and also personally made the request during his meeting with him on March 31 seeking permission to send these essential items to the people of Sri Lanka.