Government plans to release another 10,000 IDPs by this week from Vavuniya Camps - Chandrasiri

[ Monday, 14 September 2009, 10:51.23 AM GMT +05:30 ]Lankasri

Sri Lankan government is planning to resettle the people displaced from the areas west of the A-9 Kandy-Jaffna highway first before tackling the eastern areas of Wanni region as the demining in Mannar and Kilinochchi areas are coming to a completion with the recent addition of 10 automatic demining machines to the mine clearing operations.

In an interview to the local daily, Island, the Northern Province Governor Major General (retd) G. A. Chandrasiri has said that the army and five demining agencies had been engaged in mine clearing operations in the Giant Tank (Yoda Wewa) area in Mannar District. According to Army officials clearing the eastern region of Wanni would be a daunting task due to the heavy mining by the fleeing LTTE rebels. The soldiers engaged in clearing operations in the areas of Puthukkudyiruppu and Mullaitivu are still recovering massive stockpiles of buried arms and explosives.

The Governor hopes that an area of about 7,000 acres north of Giant Tank could be cleared by the third week of October. By the end of October approximately 14,000 acres would be ready to receive civilians, both south (South of the Vavuniya-Mannar main road) and north of Yodawewa, the Island reported. The area, known as the "rice bowl" of the region provided the main livelihood of the residents in the area before the military offensive. The military brought the area, which mainly consists of the Island's most fertile paddy fields, under its control in July 2008. The majority of the displaced from this area was Muslims chased away by the LTTE.
The governor of Northern Province said that about 5,000 people have been released from the camps in Jaffna leaving about another 5,000 at the camps.

According to Major General Chandrasiri, the government plans to release another 10,000 IDPs by end of this week from the camps in Vavuniya. This will reduce the total number of IDPs in the welfare camps to about 237,000, he said.

In the name of rehabilitation, displaced people are transferred to other camps

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A portion of the displaced people from Trincomalee were sheltered in Batticaloa camps, had been transferred to Kilivetti internment camps.
According to this arrangement, 122 persons from 37 families who had been sheltered in the second Sri Lankan Camp located at Sathurukondan, Batticaloa were sent by six Sri Lanka transport buses was according to information received from news reporters.

The native place of the displaced persons was Samboor, Trincomalee, but without rehabilitating them in their desired birth places, they are transferred to such internment camps, which have created massive inconveniences to the displaced persons was stated.

Source: Lankasri.com [ Wednesday, 15 July 2009]

Thenmarachchi people insist for rehabilitation

The displaced people in Thenmarachchi areas, during the year 1999 confrontations, request for rehabilitation. In this connection, an appeal letter has been forwarded by them to Sri Lanka government Officers and International Humanitarian Organization Administrative officers.
The displaced people has alleged, even though landmines are excavated in their villages, the defense sector is not granting them for rehabilitation in their native villages. 170 families from Thanankilappu, 150 families from Maravanprua and Kaithadi and Nawatkuli 250 families were displaced during the year 1999. Out of this, 35 families from Karavanpura and 200 families from Kaithadi had been rehabilitated.

According to speculation, the forces have forcibily taken over 5000 acres of land which produces half portion of paddy in Jaffna. Meanwhile, due to the closure of Thanankilappu roadway at Nunavil, people are spending more time for their travelling was stated.

Source : Lankasri.com