Approximately 80 families residing in Karkulam village in the Vavuniya Divisional Secretariat, who relied on daily-wage work such as construction and cutting timber for their livelihood, have been rendered jobless due to the ban on travel and pushed to the point of starvation.
Families across the North-East have report similar conditions due to the deprivation of work causing acute economic distress.
A section of the residents of Karkulam are immigrants from hill country towns including Kandy, Nawalapitiya and Matale.
They expressed disappointment that despite the fact that it has been over six years since they moved to Vavuniya, their area is devoid of even the most basic facilities.
Residents of the village range from infants to the elderly, all of who live in ramshackle huts without access to electricity, clean drinking water or toilets. The travel ban has brought their already precarious existence to the level of starvation.
Since bus transport has also been halted, Karkulam villagers are also facing difficulties in reaching the hospital in case of a medical emergency.
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