A total of 452 Sri Lankan refugees have been repatriated and returned to the Island with the assistance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 2015-16, a policy note of Public Department tabled in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, according to a news report published by The Hindu on Saturday (3).

The Hindu report filed from Chennai said: The numbers were 396 in 2014-15. “The refugees who are willing to go back to Sri Lanka on their own accord are issued Exit Permits by the District Collectors concerned, for which, to expedite the process, a simplified procedure has been formulated and implemented,” it added.