Power a boon to North: CEB to light up Madhu for feast

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

The Madhu church has been provided with electricity on time for the annual Madhu feast where large numbers of pilgrims are expected to converge. A radius of one kilometre around the Madhu church will be lit up shortly before the festivities begin. A 12 kilometre road on Mannar-Madhu road leading upto the Madhu church will be illuminated by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), the Uthuru-Wasanthaya Program's Project Manager, Gratian Muthukudaarachchi told the Sunday Observer.

Project Manager Muthukudaarachchi said the pilgrims will be able to move freely within the Madhu church premises and in the town area after being lit up. Electricity will be provided around the clock, he said. Meanwhile a 40 kilometre medium voltage line from Mankulam to Kilinochchi and from Mankulam to Mullaitivu will be completed in September this year.

"We will construct a high tension power line from Vavuniya to Chunnakam and from Kilinochchi to Chunnakam immediately. The work is expected to complete by 2011." he said.

Plans are under way to build the coastal power line from Weli-Oya to Jaffna and Jaffna to Mannar by using insulated wire to avoid trees being felled.

The power lines will be constructed 18 meters away from the main road to allow road construction work. Several industries such as the boat building industry and hoteliers will immensely benefit from the project, he said. Meanwhile the Vavuniya grid sub station's capacity has been increased to meet the growing demand. Providing electricity to the entire Northern Province will be a boon for inhabitants who have undergone immense suffering during the past three decades due to terrorist activities, Muthukudaarachchi added.

Uthuru Wasanthaya program areas such as Elephant Pass, Kayts, and some parts of the Mannar district plunged into darkness when it came under the seige of terrorists.

A complete breakdown resulted when they launched attacks on generators in the entire Northern province. Meanwhile the government's top priority is to restore electricity to these areas to revive industries, hospitals etc. This will be done under two phases mapped out by the CEB. The first phase will be completed within 180 days while the second phase will be completed within two years in 2011. Vavuniya and Mannar areas will be fully restored while 70-80 percent of power will be restored in Jaffna by the end of this year.

Electricity has already been provided to Kilinochchi town, Oddusudan, Nedunkerni and Mullaitivu. A sum of Rs. 2 billion was allocated for the project. However the total sum involved in providing electricity to the Northern province is around Rs. 6 billion.

Muthukudaarachchi further said Paranthan, Pooneryn, Thunukkai, and Wellamulli towns will be provided electricity within the next two weeks.

The Uthuru Wasanthaya Task Force is spearheaded by the Senior Presidential Advisor and Parliamentarian, Basil Rajapaksa. Under the Uthuru-Wasanthaya program all the five districts of the Northern Province such as Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, and Mannar will be provided with electricity by December 31. Under the Uthuru Wasanthaya program 400 transformers will be installed in the northern province to cater to the needs of persons in the entire northern province by 2011. The government has decided to provide electricity to security establishments, government offices, and homes that had electricity before. Persons who have been affected by the conflict will be provided with electricity.

Last week a mammoth transformer was transported by road from the Wattala- Aniyakande power sub-station to Vavuniya power sub-station.

The transformer will provide electricity to areas of Vavuniya and other areas. The capacity of the Vavuniya sub-station will be increased from 20 megawatts to 50 megawatts, he said.