Cabinet green-lights proposal to boost living standards of Indian-origin Tamils 

Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting on Monday approved a proposal to boost the living standards of Indian-origin Tamils living in the up-country plantation areas.

“The upcountry Tamil people who migrated from India and live in the Central, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces have been contributing to the national economy in various ways for about 200 years,” a statement comprising Weekly Cabinet Decisions issued by the Government Information Department noted.

The proposal to this effect submitted by President Ranil Wickremesinghe was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday.

“Their contribution is about a third of the total income of the plantation sector. By February 2023, it will be 200 years since the arrival of the first generations of the Up-Country Tamil community to Sri Lanka,” the statement added. 

Indian Tamils were brought into Sri Lanka as cheap labourers to work in the nation’s tea plantations during British ruling time.