Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said 12,420 internally displaced persons, lodged in camps in Sri Lanka, have returned to their native places in the island.

“Till yesterday, 12,420 people have been sent to their native. Today itself as many as 4,300 people will be going to their respective homes from the refugee camps”, he said in DMK’s organ Murasoli.

He said the significance of today’s programme at Mannar District where the 4,300 displaced people would be returning home was that each person would be receiving a financial assistance of Rs 25,000 besides getting roof sheets to reconstruct their houses and provisions including rice and dhal for the period of six months.

“Sri Lankan Minister Nishath Faqruddin and Fazil Rajapaksa, MP would be participating in this function,” he added.

Karunanidhi said Sri Lankan Minister Senthil Thondaiman had recently stated that the Sri Lankan Tamils issue should not be politicised in Tamil Nadu.

“Another Sri Lankan Minister Muthu Sivalingam also stated that India has extended Rs 500 crore to rehabilitate Sri Lankan Tamils. He also stated that Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa also promised that with this financial assistance from India and other countries, the rehablitation process would be over by December”, Karunanidhi added.

Sri Lanka commenced the resettlement of displaced persons from October 15 as assured to an MPs delegation from Tamil Nadu that visited the camps.