Kerala govt to provide shelter to Orissa Christians

Kerala government offered to shelter 56 refugees from Orissa, most of whom had fled the state following threats and beatings by Hindu mobs avenging the murder of a VHP leader.

Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan met with a group of riot victims who narrated their painful experiences in the Kandhamal district.

The Chief Minister said the state government would accommodate them in various centres under the social welfare department.

The refugees were mentally and physically weak and their requirement for treatment, food and clothes would be taken care of by the state government, Achuthanandan said

The riot victims told the chief minister that they were being continuously targeted for the last one-year and were hiding in the woods to escape attacks by the religious fanatics.

"We have not decided about the future course of rehabilitation. Many of them wanted to go back to their native places in Kandhamal district once normalcy is restored," CM's political secretary KN Balagopal said.

The riot victims had reached Kerala in several batches with the help of human right activists. For the last three weeks, they were given shelter in Thrissur by a Christian prayer centre.

At least 50,000 fled to forests and took shelter in relief camps following violence by Hindu mobs since August 25 in Orissa. Over 60 have died and 300 churches burnt in one of the largest violence against Christians in the country.