Silawathura IDPs better off

Ananda Kannangara

Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services Minister Rishard Bathiudeen assured that 122 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who were resettled at Silawathura in Mannar under the `Uthuru Wasanthaya' program last Friday will be provided with infrastructure facilities within the next few days.

"All families were resettled after clearing landmines which were laid by fleeing LTTE cadres", the Minister told the `Sunday Observer'.

He said according to the first stage of the Government's resettlement program, a new school, post office, police station, a pre-school, hospital with adequate medical staffers and several mobile healthcare centres will be set up in the Silawathura area.

The resettlement program at Silawathura was attended by Parliamentarians Basil Rajapaksa, Minister Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan and North-East Governor Dixon Delabandara.

Minister Bathiudeen said the 122 resettled families consisting of 409 persons including schoolchildren were given dry rations and other food items sufficient for two weeks. The authorities decided to continue the dry ration distribution program for another six months.

"We have looked into the grievances of the fishing community and offered them fishing boats and equipment,".

Minister Bathiudeen said that the second stage of the `Resettlement Program' will be held on May 11 and over 200 families are expected to be resettled.

Regarding the recently appointed `Task Force' by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to look into the health, food and education facilities of over 188,000 IDPs, temporally sheltered in Government controlled areas, the Minister said that due to their commitment all essential services such as water, electricity and health sectors were functioning smoothly to meet the daily requirements of IDPs.

He said during the past three weeks around 200 lorryloads of essential food items were despatched to Mannar, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and the Killinochchi areas.