Govt to implement programs:

Livelihood support for conflict-affected

by Shanika SRIYANANDA

The Government will implement new programs to provide livelihood support for people who had been affected by the conflict including those who have resettled in the North and the East.

Minister of Resettlement Milroy Fernando said that his Ministry was collecting data on displaced people and will implement livelihood support programs which are suitable for those areas.

He said though more attention was being paid to resettle the people displaced in the battle which ended in May 2009, people who had been displaced since 1985 also needed to be taken into consideration when providing support.

Minister Fernando told the Sunday Observer that there were Sinhalese and Muslims displaced due to the 30-year conflict who needed support. “Apart from the 280,000 who were displaced during the Eelam War IV, there are thousands of displaced Sinhalese and Muslims whose lives are in misery due to financial constraints.

They will be included in the new programs”, he said.

According to Minister Fernando, 53 widows from Manthei had been given assistance in the poultry industry with each family being given 20 chicks.

“We are doing an assessment to find out self-employment opportunities in each village so that financial assistance could be provided accordingly. We have already discussed this matter with banks to see whether these people could be granted small loans to start the projects.

Agriculture, fisheries, seasonal cultivations and cottage industries are the main areas that people will be supported in”, he said, adding that irrigation tanks and agri-wells would be repaired to facilitate the farmers.

Minister Fernando said he would commence a dialogue with Muslim countries to get their assistance to resettle and support displaced Muslims in the North and the East. “They were good businessmen and they have lost their properties due to LTTE attacks. They were chased away from their homes,” he said.

He said resettling the remaining displaced people would be completed within the next three months. “The deadline is realistic, but if there is a delay it is due mainly to de-mining which needs to be carried out carefully. The Government does not want to have mine victims after people have been resettled. De-mining is taking place in highly mine-laden areas and time is needed to complete the task”, he said.

However, the number of displaced people in welfare centres in Vavuniya is declining as over 2,000 people are being resettled every week.

“Every day, people are returning to their homes. There are nearly 40,000 people in these camps now, with over 20,000 people on the move as they visit their relatives and hometowns to make arrangements to resettle,” Minister Fernando said.

He said the Government would provide assistance for the resettled people until they were economically stable.