Friday, May 15: Chennai (PTI) AIADMK General Secretary Jayalalithaa on Friday asked the Centre to immediately arrange for air dropping of food materials by Indian Army to help Sri Lankan-Tamils "lodged in relief camps" in the island’s war-torn north.

"As a humanitarian gesture, the Centre should immediately take steps for air dropping food material including cooked food, vegetables, fruits and water packets for the affected Tamils lodged in relief camps," she said in a statement here.

If this was not done, it would lead to starvation and deaths of thousands of affected Tamils, she said adding, such deaths would be more in number than those killed in the war.

She said with the Sri Lankan Army intensifying its offensive and even attacking hospitals, the Tamils there were suffering due to lack of food and water.

Her plea came as the Sri Lankan Army closed in on the LTTE, which is reported to be confined to a small stretch of land.

Ms. Jayalalithaa, during electioneering for Lok Sabha polls had favoured formation of a Tamil ‘Eelam’, separate home land for Sri Lankan Tamils, and vowed to press the new government in the Centre to send the Indian Army for its creation.

Though the UN, the Red Cross and other international agencies have asked Sri Lankan Government to declare a ceasefire, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had been saying the war cannot be stopped, she said.

She alleged that Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and the UPA Government were only enacting a drama by claiming that they had brought about a ceasefire and were not concerned about the future of Sri Lankan-Tamils and finding a permanent solution to the ethnic strife.