India hands over second relief consignment for Tamil IDPs

India on Thursday handed over a consignment of 40,000 family packs of relief material to the ICRC for displaced Tamils in war-ravaged northern Sri Lanka.

"We are on Thursday handing over to the International Committee of the Red Cross the second consignment of relief materials from India consisting of 40,000 family packs to be distributed to the IDPs from North Sri Lanka," Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Alok Prasad said here.

He said the humanitarian aid testified to the commitment of India towards providing assistance to the two lakh Tamil IDPs in Sri Lanka.

"This assistance is a reflection of India's continuing concern for the welfare of the conflict-affected IDPs, many of whom have managed to come out of the conflict-affected zone only within the last ten days," Prasad said.

India recently announced Rs 100 crore grant as humanitarian aid for the evacuees.

Prasad thanked the Sri Lankan government for facilitating the consignment and the ICRC for agreeing to distribute it.

"I am happy to note that this consignment has arrived in Colombo within a few days of the arrival of thousands of IDPs and reflects our commitment to respond urgently to the felt needs of the IDPs," Prasad said.