Indians treat Lankan tsunami victims

Indian clinical psychologists are currently working in the Amparai district, reports PK Balachanddran.

Three Tamil-speaking Indian clinical psychologists are currently working in the tsunami-ravaged district of Amparai in eastern Sri Lanka.

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Dr Kamalam Gopalakrishnan, Dr Kumar and Dr Mathew are from the famous private sector Manipal medical college in Karnataka.

They were sent to Amparai at the request of the Minister for Eastern Affairs Mrs Ferial Ashraff.

"It will be better if Tamil speaking psychiatrists from South India are sent here," Ashraff had told the Indian High Commissioner, Nirupama Rao, when the latter was on a visit to Amparai district recently.

But finding psychiatrists or clinical psychologists in Tamil Nadu proved to be a daunting task.

"There is a shortage personnel in this field in Tamil Nadu. Apparently, psychiatry or clinical psychology is not a popular field. And many of the existing clinical psychologists were already engaged in the tsunami-hit areas of the state like Nagapattinam and Cuddalore. Tamil Nadu had in fact got down additional personnel from NIMHANS in Bangalore," Rao told Hindustan Times.

Rebutting criticism that the Indian psychiatrists sent to Amparai did not speak Tamil, Rao said that it was not true.

"Dr Kamalam Gopalakrishnan is a Tamil, and Dr Mathew and Kumar are Tamil-speaking," she said.

"At any rate, they are all trained people who can handle patients with diverse backgrounds," Rao said.