India dispatches medical aid, doctors to Sri Lanka

New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) To provide relief and assistance
to the war-hit people in Sri Lanka, India Friday sent a
medical team along with a large consignment of medicines for
setting up a hospital in the Tamil-dominated northern part of
that country.

"To help the internally displaced civilians in Sri
Lanka, we are sending a 27-member medical team comprising
eight doctors with over 25 tonnes of relief material,"
Brigadier P Sachdeva told reporters here.

India has already established a 110-bed hospital in
Pulmoddai town and is going to shift it to Menik farms area in
Vavuniya district, which was liberated from the LTTE.

"The Sri Lankan government requested us to shift the
hospital to Vavuniya as it is closer to the main concentration
of internally displaced people there," Sachdeva said.

An Indian Air Force IL-76, captained by Wing Commander H
P Kumar, took off with the relief material at around 0930
hours from the Palam air base here and is expected to reach
Colombo by the afternoon.

The team sent Friday includes a surgeon, physician,
anesthetist and paramedical staff. About two dozen Indian
doctors are already present in Sri Lanka.

The relief material is a part of Rs 500-crore package
prepared by India for rehabilitation of the Tamils displaced
by the war.

Since November 2008, India has provided over 1.7 lakh
family relief packs to the war affected population in Sri
Lanka. PTI AJD
PMR
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