Chennai: Almost a lakh people live huddled in homes that have damaged or no roofs. Often no doors, no toilets, no electricity. Across relief camps in Tamil Nadu. And this has been their plight since the ethnic war broke out in Sri Lanka two decades ago.

A fortnight ago, a delegation of DMK and Congress MPs visited Sri Lanka to check out the condition of displaced Tamils there after the war. But the state of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in the Tamil Nadu government's own backyard is not very good, to say the least.

That might change now. In a bid to deflect criticism from the Opposition, the DMK government has allotted Rs 12 crore to make their living conditions better.

Minister for Backward Classes, K K S S R Ramachandran, says: "Our Chief Minister wants us to look at them, not as refugees but as our own citizens".

As she cleans vessels at her relief camp home, young Priya has a dream - that of a college admission. Born as a refugee in India, higher education has been out of reach. But the government now plans to offer refugees of her generation, surplus seats available in professional colleges.

During the final war against the LTTE, Karunanidhi was accused of not doing enough to save Tamil civilians. Analysts say this could be an attempt to do some damage control.

Tags: camp DMK, Lankan refugees, refugees, tamil nadu

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