Tarun Karthick
Port Blair, 18 August 2022
Mr. G T Lorenes, Joint Secretary, Katchal Settlers Welfare Association recently met Mr. Keshav Chandra, Chief Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Administration and requested him to expedite the process of resettlement of the Sri Lankan Tamil Settlers settled at Katchal Island in the 1970s.
Mr. Lorenes also submitted a representation with the complete history of the Sri Lankan Tamil Settlers, as well as their efforts for re-settlement to a non-tribal area.
Sri Lankan Tamil Settlers of Katchal Island are facing existential crisis due to their settlement in a tribal area. Unemployment is at its peak among the community members ever since the Rubber Plantation at Katchal was closed down.
Members of their community cannot take up self-employment due to Katchal being a tribal area. The settlers are also denied access to credit under the schemes of the Central Govt.
These settlers have also been kept out of the grass root level democracy as there is no Panchayat, Zilla Parishad Seat or Panchayat Samiti in Katchal Island.
These settlers have been demanding resettlement to a non-tribal area for close to 30 years now. Their issue has been raised at the highest level and also in Parliament several times, but their resettlement is still pending.
The members of the community had protested continuously for 134 days in 2021 to press for their demand of resettlement.