SL Army in the forefront to develop Oddusuddan, Nedunkerni :

Ghost town turns into a bustling city

by Dhameshi Yatawara

In between the Mullaitivu, Mankulam connecting road, lies the now bustling city of Oddusuddan. Three years ago it was a ghost town, but today it shows no such traces. The roads are being widened, pavements constructed, new shops and buildings coming up – just like in any other developing small town in the outstation it is dusty, hot and chaotic.

Life is buzzing on the streets of Oddusuddan and people are definitely on track to develop economically and socially.

Oddusuddan and its neighbour Nedunkerni today are showing great potential as agro-economic centres in the Northern Province. The two small towns and its people have many plans to develop. Yet, the Government mechanism had problems in initiating the ground work as three years ago the infrastructure was horrific. Being the only established Government arm, the Sri Lanka Army was given the responsibility to start development work in the towns and villages. And the responsibility was huge.

Today however, one could witness the fruits of hard labour. According to Brigadier Dhammika Pananwala, General Officer Commanding of the 64 Division of the Army which is at present in Oddusuddan the community of the area is of a different assortment. “Different to other parts of Mullaitivu these people are mostly interested in agro-economic businesses and livelihoods. Thus their needs and demands in the development strategy are also different,” said Brgd. Pananwala, explaining the development work and the Army’s contribution in it. The work implemented under the 64 Division covered 24 Grama Niladhari divisions catering to more than 11,000 people who were all newly resettled.

Considering the needs of the newly resettling communities, the local Government mechanism with their partners, the Sri Lanka Army started drawing plans for the development of the area. “The policy was the Mahinda Chinthana way forward plan and as the Government mechanism it was what we saw as the basis,” Brgd. Pananwala said. Initially, as the villagers were resettling in the area the first priority was to provide housing for all these families. “These were the areas where the people started resettling first. It was as soon as peace returned. The Army deployed part of their teams responsible for assisting the resettling communities,” he said.

The busy streets of Oddusuddan

Soldiers helping villagers during the floods in the recent past

In the ‘Nenasala’ in Oddusuddan

Performing religious rites

Today, from the given load of responsibility the Army have assisted in completing the construction of more than 1700 houses and 380 houses are under construction. Constructions will begin for another 1385 houses. Thus 60 percent of the housing requirement of the area will complete.

The Army assisted the people not only during resettlement but during every disaster they faced. During the recent floods with the torrential rains devastating the communities who had just resettled, the soldiers took them to safety, provided food and took care of them, risking their own lives.Having the potential as a successful agro-economic centre Oddusuddan and Nedunkerni are cultivating according to a plan. The main crop is paddy.

“Lack of a regular income is a key issue for the villagers. We could see that they have been a backward community for a long time. Even at the time the terrorists controlled these lands, the youth from the villages had to sacrifice their lives at the frontlines. Many of the ex-combatants who are now resettled in their original lands were soldiers, not leaders. It is with the present government's development strategies that an effective plan has been implemented for the betterment of these people,” Brgd. Pananwala said.

Apart from paddy, a wide variety of field crops are cultivated by people of the area. Among the variety of fruit crops grown in the area they are said to have the tastiest mangoes and ripe jak fruit.

In addition to the traditional cultivations, rubber is grown at an experimental level with the assistance and guidance of the Sri Lanka Rubber Research Institute. The new program started with six people but today 10 families are involved in rubber cultivation.

A small fishing community exists in the area around the main tank, the Muthiyankattu Wewa. “Initially, focus is on completing the needs of the people in the locality. It is essential to provide food security and proper water and sanitation facilities for the local communities ensuring their health and nutrition.

When the level of life is elevated the local produce can reach the outside markets,” he said.Arable lands are abundant and even though they are cultivated we need to develop storage facilities to safely store the harvest,” he said.

The dairy industry shows a healthy growth in the area and recently two chilling plants were established to store collected milk from the farmers.

Once the people are settled with sufficient food, water, proper healthcare facilities the golden produce of Oddusuddan and Nedunkerni will reach markets in the distance and with the expanding road network it will surely support the economic growth of these areas.

Pix: Susantha Wijegunasekara