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Ceylon Workers Congress Vice President Senthil Thondaman said that upcountry estate workers were vulnerable to contract Covid-19 and that the Government and estate managements should adopt precautionary measures to protect the workers.
He told the Sunday Observer that estate workers were living in very congested habitats in the estates which were known as `lines’.
“Following the countrywide lockdown, a large number of young men from estate areas employed in Colombo in various fields have returned to their habitats in the estates. As such they could even be the carriers of the virus. Therefore, the Government should take precautionary measures in the upcountry area focusing on the safety of estate workers,” the CWC Vice President said.
He said that he had spoken to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin a few days ago and thanked him for the measures he had announced recently focusing on the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu.
According to Thondaman, the Tamil Nadu State Government has allocated Indian Rs. 317 million to improve the living standards of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in Tamil Nadu. The CWC Vice President added that he had even sought the help of the Tamil Nadu Government to focus on improving the educational standards of the children upcountry.