Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Monday asked his ministers and officials to immediately attend to the basic needs and demands of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in the state, following a media report that questioned the propriety of criticising the Sri Lankan government when the refugees here were suffering.

Convening a meeting of ministers and senior officials after being “moved” by the reports, Karunanidhi directed all ministers to visit the 115 Lankan Tamil refugee camps across Tamil Nadu and present a report before November 10.

“Don’t forget they are also Tamils; don’t consider them as refugees. You should give priority to this problem and settle them immediately,” he told the Cabinet, including son and Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin.

Based on the first-hand reports by the ministers, the basic infrastructure and other needs raised by the inmates of the camps would be met, the meeting resolved. The government has already announced a Rs 12-crore package, and the ways and means to spend the money would depend on the reports.

Stating the reason for convening the meeting, Karunanidhi said the reports and pictures about the condition in the refugee camps “moved him to tears”, adding, “It is our duty to take urgent measures to mitigate their problems immediately.”

The statement issued after the meeting, meanwhile, pointed out that this would be the second such visit to be undertaken by his ministers, after the first one in 2006 when the DMK returned to power. Based on the reports, the state government had urged the Centre to allocate Rs 16 crore for improving the basic amenities at the refugee camps. “With the nod for that funding yet to come, the state government allocated Rs 5 crore in the 2009-10 budget,” it added.