Refugees from strife-torn Kandhamal in Orissa who have been sheltered in Kerala since last October would soon be taken back to their native villages. However, even as the Kerala Government has been completing the process to send back the refugees , eight of them have been reported missing from the camp in Kochi and are believed to have returned to their home state.

The riot victims, numbering 56, had reached Kerala in several batches with the help of human rights activists. The Kerala Government housed them in a shelter home and met their daily requirements.

Several voluntary organisations also chipped in with food and medical care. Since some of the refugees were taken back home by their relatives after normalcy was restored, only 46 persons are waiting to be sent back from the camp.

Sources in the Kerala Social Welfare Department said, “A section of the refugees had become restless. They used to request us to take them back to Orissa. But the state Government has to weigh all options, including reviewing the present situation in Orissa. The Government cannot act in an impulsive manner on the refugees’ demand.”

Sources said a senior government official would soon visit Orissa to facilitate their smooth return. Money would be released from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for meeting the cost of the journey. The state has approached the Railways for dedicating a bogey of the Alappuzha-Dhanbad Express to take them back to Orissa.

Meanwhile, the Welfare Department has lodged a complaint with the local police regarding the missing group, comprising two couples and three young women. They had left the camp early on Tuesday, leaving a note which said they were returning to Orissa. But neither the department nor the police have shown much interest in tracking them down.

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