Tamil Nadu Sends First Consignment of Grains and Medicines to Sri Lanka

On Wednesday, May 18, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin sent off the first cargo of relief items for Sri Lanka, which is experiencing its worst economic crisis in its history.

From the Chennai Port, CM Stalin sent off a ship carrying 9,000 tonnes of grains, 200 tonnes of milk powder, and 24 tonnes of essential medicines. The relief items are expected to be worth Rs 45 crore in total.

CM Stalin had previously stated that Tamil Nadu will send 40,000 tonnes of food, 500 tonnes of milk powder, and life-saving medications to Sri Lanka in phases after gaining approval from the Union government. He had also urged people to donate on humanitarian grounds so that essential things might be purchased and shipped to Sri Lanka.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution on April 29 requesting the Union government to accept the state government's request to send food and life-saving medications to the crisis-hit Sri Lanka.

MK Stalin, who led the unanimously passed motion by the House, which included the opposition AIADMK and the BJP, stated, "We cannot regard the situation in Sri Lanka as an internal matter of the neighboring nation. Humanitarian aid must be extended, help must be immediate and timely."

In response to the Assembly resolution, Jaishankar declared that the island country would welcome government-to-government comprehensive relief. "On April 16, the Foreign Secretary talked to the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary and stressed that the government of Sri Lanka would be open to humanitarian assistance on a government-to-government basis," the Union Minister said in a May 1 letter.

Jaishankar requested that Chief Minister Stalin instruct the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary to coordinate with the Indian government for the provision and distribution of humanitarian aid supplies to the Sri Lankan government.

"In the current circumstances, the assistance material would be shared with the government of Sri Lanka to be dispersed correctly," he stated.