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| Sunday, 9 January 2005 |
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Govt. ban on squatters on beaches by Lionel Yodhasinghe All available local and international forces will be mobilised to reconstruct the Tsunami affected areas. The government would take prompt action to complete housing construction by next June and the preliminary work on medium and long term projects would be started on January 15, Senior Advisor to the President Mano Tittawella, told journalists during a press briefing in Colombo on Thursday. He said the necessary land for this purpose is being earmarked in safe areas and no one would be allowed to put up constructions in vulnerable areas specially close to the sea, in the future. Three apex Task Forces on rescue and relief (TAFRER), rebuild the nation (TAFREN) and set logistics and law and order (TAFLOL) in the affected areas have already been set up on the directive of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to expedite the reconstruction and a special draft bill will be presented to parliament soon to set up a separate authority to enhance these activities, he said. Discussions with all major donors on proposed projects have been held and the plans of identified infrastructure projects would be finalised by January 15 as the constructions are supposed to commence by early February. TAFREN would implement these projects through line ministries, agencies and institutions with the Task Force facilitating speedy implementation, Tittawella said. He said that the government will implement these projects in the LTTE held areas thereby giving equal to those affected in the North and East. Secretary to the Prime Minister Lalith Weeratunga said that special arrangement would be made to issue the affected with vital documents such as identity cards, birth, marriage and death certificates as many survivors have lost them. He said the Task Force would strive to reduce official bureaucracy in this effort as it is unfair to ask such documents from the victims. "But we will try to prevent possible ruse in the guise of victims and issue the documents to the genuine cases." |
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