Major expansion drive in Mullaitivu

By P. Krishnaswamy

One of the newly constructed agrarian buildings

One of the rehabilitated irrigation reservoirs

One of the rehabilitated irrigation canals

A thriving papaw plantation

An agrarian warehouse

The Mullaitivu district has a low population density, 50 persons per Sq.Km, and was the worst ravaged among the Northern districts, since it was the final hideout of the LTTE terrorists who used civilians as human shields and largely contributed to their mass deaths, incapacitation, displacements and extensive destruction of all resources and of their livelihood. Several areas of the district were infested with landmines, planted by the LTTE, with total disregard for the safety of the local population.

The district is also the driest part in the Dry Zone and receives the lowest amount of rain, with hardly any perennial rivers or streams. The Government, since the total elimination of the LTTE in May 2009, has focussed on multifarious programs to offset the losses and transform the district as a fertile region with maximum livelihood and infrastructure facilities. The programs include irrigation and water supply projects, rehabilitation/reconstruction of road networks, agricultural and fisheries development, education and health care.

Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa who is Chairman of the Presidential Task Force for Northern Development last week declared open four projects completed at a total expenditure of Rs. 455.14 Mn. The four projects were the Thunukkai Water Supply Scheme completed at an expenditure of Rs. 192.24 Mn, the Pandiyankulam Water Supply Scheme completed at an expenditure of Rs. 175 Mn, the Pudukudiyiruppu hospital building completed at an expenditure of Rs. 38.6 Mn and the Pidukudiyiruppu District Secretariat Building completed at an expenditure of Rs. 49.3 Mn.

Resettled

A total of 39,347 families consisting of 125,963 persons have been resettled in the five administrative divisions of the district. They are people who were rescued and admitted at the Menik Farm Welfare Centres in Vavuniya during the final military onslaught to eliminate the LTTE. The division-wise break of the resettled families is: 3,570 families consisting of 11,157 persons in Thunukkai, 2,665 families consisting of 8,494 persons in Manthai East, 5,474 families consisting of 17,829 persons in Oddusuddan, 12,547 families consisting of 39,883 persons in Maritimepattu , 11,555 families consisting of 36,811 persons in Pudukudiyiruppu and 3,536 families consisting of 11,789 persons in Welioya, according to details provided by the Mullaitivu Government Agent.

Several Housing projects and other welfare projects for the resettled families were launched by Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa.

Under the Irrigation Development Works for increasing agricultural productivity the Ministry of Economic Development allocated a total amount of Rs. 2,022 Mn. An irrigable land to the extend of 20,589 acres and 17 tanks are covered under this project, benefiting nearly 9,000 farmers. About 1,215 abandoned agricultural lands were also reclaimed under this project.

Focus

Irrigation being the major focus of the Government for the district, several tank rehabilitation/construction projects have been launched under the Conflict Effected Region Emergency Project (CEREP) and the Emergency Northern Recovery Project (ENReP). Under the CAREP, the rehabilitation of the Vavunikkulam Tank (head works) project was launched at an expenditure of Rs. 240.72674 Mn and 91 percent of the work has been completed as on 30.04.2013. Over 33 percent of the work on the Pannankamam Tank (down stream)rehabilitation work has been completed and the total amount allocated is Rs. 27.647955 Mn. The amount allocated for the Kalvilankulam (head works) rehabilitation is Rs.28.269186 Mn and 90 percent of the work has been completed as on 30.04.2013. An amount of Rs.12.9150122 Mn has been allocated for the downstream work of the same tank and the work has been completed 100 percent. Rs. 9.1124535 Mn has been allocated for the (head works) rehabilitation of the Kallavilankulam tank and 98 percent of the work has been completed. Rs. 18.8631012 Mn has been allocated for the rehabilitation (down stream) of the same tank and 95 percent of the work has been completed. Rs. 24.7267237 Mn has been allocated for the rehabilitation of the Maruthamkulam tank (head works) and 85 percent of the work has been completed. Rs. 19.8028094 Mn has been allocated for the rehabilitation (down stream) and 51 percent of the work has been completed.

Under the CAREP Rs.22.1307211 Mn has been allocated for the rehabilitation (head works) of the Madawalasingam tank and 75 percent of the work has been completed as on 30.04.2013. Rs. 28.7050294 Mn has been allocated for the rehabilitation (down stream) of the same tank and 55 percent of the work has been completed. Rs. 193 Mn has been allocated for the rehabilitation (head works) of the Thannimurippu tank and only 10 percent of the work has been completed while work is progress to complete the project. Rs. 172.8995 Mn has been allocated for the rehabilitation ( down stream) work of the same tank and 30 percent of the work has been completed. Rs. 55.3109779 Mn has been allocated for the rehabilitation (head works) of the Udayarkaddu tank and 20 percent of the work has been completed.

Rehabilitation

Rs. 139.9892 Mn has been allocated has been allocated for he rehabilitation (down stream) of the same tank and only eight percent of the work has been completed and work on completing the project is in progress. Rs. 39.7594975 Mn has been allocated for the Viswamadukulam tank rehabilitation (head works) and 43 percent of the work has been completed as on 30.04.2013. Rs. 81.9917028 Mn has been allocated for the rehabilitation ( head works) of the Maruthamadukulam tank and only 10 percent of the work has been completed and work on completing the project is in progress.

Under the CAREP another amount of Rs.327.268 Mn has been allocated for the rehabilitation of several other tanks in the district. Rs.11.046 Mn has been allocated for the rehabilitation of the Kurulawewa tank where 70 percent of the work has been completed.

Rs. 12.154 Mn has been allocated for the Gajabapura tank and only 06 percent of the work has been completed. Rs. 8.160 Mn has been allocated for the Mayawewa tank and only two percent of the work has been completed while work on completing the project is in progress. Rs.6.822 Mn has been allocated for the Tikiriwewa tank rehabilitation and 80 percent of the work has been completed. Rs. 34.673 Mn has been allocated for the construction of the Weliala Anicut and only 08 percent of the work has been completed. The allocation for the rehabilitation of the Ehetagaswewa tank is Rs. 65.434 Mn and 65 percent of the work has been completed. Rs. 95.839 Mn has been allocated for the rehabilitation of the Kiribanwewa tank. Rs. 95.839 Mn for the rehabilitation of the Koongahawea tank, Rs. 22.800 Mn for the Weharawewa tank and Rs. 32.570 Mn for the Kudakambiliwewa tank have been allocated but the contracts have so far not been awarded to any contractors. Over Rs. 1,800 Million is required for rehabilitating the Kanukkery Tank and the number of families benefiting is 320 and the extent of land coming under irrigation is 1,813 acres.

Under the ENReP funds have been allocated and work is nearing completion on the rehabilitation of five more tanks. Rs. 23.496 Mn has been allocated for the Mallavi tank and 90 percent of the work has been completed. Rs. 56.010 Mn has been allocated for the Ampelaperumal tank and 55 percent of the work has been completed. Rs. 32.207 Mn has been allocated for the Koddaikaddinakulam tank and 85 percent of the work has been completed. Rs. 51.808 Mn has been allocated for the Iyankankulam tank and 58 percent of the work has been completed. Rs. 25.645 Mn has been allocated for the Palayamurukandykulam tank and 92 percent of the work has been completed. A team of experts from the Moratuwa university is working on town planning projects to transform Pudukudiyiruppu, Oddusuddan and Mullaitivu as advanced and modern townships with more educational, health care and residential facilities. It is anticipated that they would become better townships than even Jaffna and Vavuniya, according to authoritative Government sources.The UDA is also working on the projects. Tourism centers, adventure parks and mini golf courses will feature under the town planning.

Electrification projects are under implementation and 100 percent electrification in the entire district is anticipated to be achieved soon with the completion of these projects. All government hospitals are functional with presence of all doctors and other staff and Medical Equipment to the value of Rs. 80 Mn were supplied to the hospitals last year. Additional funds and equipment were provided to the Mullaitivu District General Hospital, the Base Hospital, eight divisional hospitals, 90 primary medical care units and the one Chest Clinic. The newly constructed office of the Regional Director of Health Services was inaugurated last year by parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa.

Infrastructure

Extensive infrastructure, industrial complexes, tourist centres and more livelihood facilities for the local population are among the plans under formulation.A total allocation of Rs. 23,450.75 Mn was provided for improvements to the 224.67 km road network within the district which include construction of new roads, renovation or rehabilitation and all these roads are asphalted. Under the program to increase agricultural productivity in the district, since the elimination of LTTE terrorism in May 2009, over 200 two wheel tractors, 144 four wheel tractors and 3639 water pumps have been distributed among the farmers.

Seed materials supplied which include 2,723 tonnes of paddy, 0.220 tonnes of ground nuts, 0.060 tonnes of black gram, 0...030 tonnes of green gram, 0.040 tonnes of cowpea, 0.050 tonnes of red onions, 0.004 tonnes of maize and 0.002 tonnes of gingerily. This is in addition to highly subsidised fertilisers and concessional services, where ever necessary, for ploughing the lands for cultivation. 181 sprayers, 176 rolls of barbed wire and 1,500 organic tools were also supplied to the farmers.

This year 40,000 papaw seedlings, 25,000 lime seedlings, 10,000, curry leaf seedlings and 10,000 pomegranate seedlings were distributed among farmers for increasing agricultural productivity.

Population

The nearly 15,000 coastal population living along the coastal length extending 70 Km are blessed with a fertile fishing zone. The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development and the provincial administration have implemented many far-reaching programs for the social and economic welfare of the fishing communities.

Fish production that was 1,379.55 tonnes in 2010 increased three fold to 4,361.73 tonnes in 2011 and a considerable increase has already been recorded in the current year. It is projected that the fish production will increase several fold in the future.

The line ministry distributed fishing nets, mechanised boats, non mechanised boats, and other fishing gear to the fisher families who had lost everything during the long drawn out conflict. They are now living in an atmosphere of peace and contentment because all pass systems and restricted hours of fishing have been dispensed with.

The Ministry of Economic Development, under its Irrigation Development Works program for increasing agricultural productivity allocated a total amount of Rs.2,022 Mn last year. An irrigable land to the extend of 20,589 acres and 17 tanks are covered under this project, benefiting nearly 9,000 farmers. About 1,215 abandoned agricultural lands were also reclaimed under this project.

A total allocation of Rs. 23,450.75 Mn was provided for improvements to the 224.67 km road network within the district which include construction of new roads, renovation or rehabilitation. All these roads are asphalted. Seven highways, including the Kandy - Jaffna A 09 highway and the Paranthan-Karachchi-Mullaitivu A 035 highway, have been developed by the Road Development Authority (RDA) under the fund allocation of the Ministry of Economic Development.

The Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Local Government and the Provincial Council rehabilitated 12 roads extending 65.5 Km at an expenditure of Rs. 1,424 Million.50 houses were constructed under the Kokkilai Housing Project and 500 houses were constructed under the Welioya Housing Project funded by the Ministry of Resettlement.

The cultivation of paddy, highland crops, vegetables and fruits that had diminished to the lowest levels prior to the first quarter of 2009, during the LTTE terrorist regime,improved considerably in the post-conflict period.

Last year, paddy cultivation had been recorded at 17,769 tonnes, high land crops at 7,692 tonnes, vegetable cultivation at 2,123 tonnes and fruit cultivation at 565 tonnes. The targeted production for 2016 is 82,600 tonnes of paddy,22,000 tonnes of other field crops, 56590 tonnes of highland crops and 6,650 tonnes of ground nuts. It is projected that this increased level of agricultural productivity will contribute to four percent of GDP in 2016.

The total number of schools in the Mullaitivu district is 115 with a total student population of 24,037 and a total of 1,508 teachers. Improvements of educational standards is one of the main focuses of the Government. Under the Mahinda Chintana vision of developing 1,000 secondary schools and 5,000 primary schools throughout the country, six Core Schools and 22 Feeder Schools in the Thunukkai Educational Zone and four Core Schools and nine Feeder Schools in Mullaitivu Educational Zone are to be developed at an expenditure of Rs. 5.0 Million and Rs. 4.5 Million respectively (total 9.5 million).

The total expenditure under various education-related programs for the district during the years 2009 - 2012 is Rs. 487.22 Million.

The achievements targeted by the year 2016 in the field of education is: (i) achievement of GCE(OL) and GCE(AL) by 75 percent, (ii) increase A/L Science education by 70 percent, (iii) build up social harmony, reconciliation through co-curricular activities and (iv) fulfill the requirements of science labs, libraries and ICT rooms in all I AB and Type II Schools. The Ministry of Public Administratin and Home Affairs constructed a Circuit Bungalow at Selvapuram at a cost of Rs. 58.60 Million.