New life springs in North and East
In Mannar- back to school |
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Sangupitty jetty - connecting Pooneryn with Jaffna peninsula
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'Freedom' gives them
hope, courage and more. Sandwiched between life and terror for many
years, they yearned for true freedom. Herded from one village to
another, they miraculously escaped death despite the barrage of
bullets flying over their heads. Their attempts to flee were blurred
in the horizon with terrorism getting worse. But, braving all odds,
they ran for life until they concluded their 'mission impossible' on
May 17, 2009, when they stepped into the land of freedom.
The 'survival of the fittest' commenced with the
exodus of refugees through the huge earth bunds of the LTTE and the
Nanthikadal lagoon.
Over 280,000 people carrying only their hopes sought
help from the Government, which started a humanitarian mission to
break the iron gates of the open prison of ruthless Prabhakaran.
Within 12 months of ending the war, over 220,000
IDPs sheltered in State-run welfare camps have gone back to their
own villages.
They who suffered under terrorism and were herded
from place to place during the height of the military push to
vanquish the LTTE, are now experiencing new life. Having never seen
their villages developing, with improved infrastructure, they now
have hopes for a better future for their children.
While criticism is mounting from all corners of the
globe, especially from Western nations which tried to tie the noose
by threatening to impose certain restrictions, the Government, had
steady and meaningful progress in resettling IDPs.
De-mining, which was the main obstacle to sending
people home, was expedited with the purchases of more de-mining
machines and deploying over 800 soldiers to de-mine the former LTTE
lands which were mined haphazardly. Priority is being given to
re-building villages in former LTTE-dominated lands.
The resettled villages are provided with all basic
facilities while infrastructure facilities, which were never
considered by most former governments, are given priority. Most
Northern villages which had never been electrified have been
provided with electricity for the first time in history.
The IDPs returning home in the Northern region are
given facilities to start farming and fishing to regain their
livelihoods. The Government has considered the revival of the
agriculture and fisheries sectors which had accounted for more than
50 percent of the Northern economy. The two sectors had collapsed
due to the war.
Returning home with a smile! |
Under the expedited resettlement program, more than
220,000 have returned to their villages in Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu,
Jaffna, Mannar and Vavuniya districts.
Resettled families are given cash, essential
utensils and livelihood assistance. Health clinics, markets, schools
and State administrative facilities have been restored to facilitate
the returning people.
Plans are under way to rehabilitate the power
transmission line from Vavuniya to Chunnakam at a cost of Rs. 2,000
million. The project which commenced under Uthuru Wasanthaya is
scheduled to be completed before end-2012.
Under stage one of the project, a 72 km transmission
line from Vavuniya to Kilinochchi will be established to transmit
132 KW electrical power capacity. A sub-depot will also be
established at Kilinochchi under stage one.
Electricity from Kilinochchi to Chunnakam will be
transmitted under the project's second stage.
The electrical power transmission line from Vavuniya
to Chunnakam was destroyed by LTTE terrorists in 1983. The destroyed
power line was repaired under Uthuru Wasanthaya.
At present only the A-9 main highway has been
connected from the National Grid by the CEB and the inner roads
would be connected later.
With Kilinochchi District Courts resuming sittings,
a clear return to normalcy is visible after the war.
Building houses for resettled people is in progress
with the World Bank, Sri Lanka Red Cross Society and UN-Habitat
Agency aiming to construct 3,640 houses. Sri Lanka Red Cross Society
provided 100 houses and the UN-Habitat Agency 300 houses for the
IDPs who had been resettled in the Kilinochchi District.
The UN Habitat Agency has also agreed to repair
1,200 damaged houses in Kilinochchi.
Heavy machinery from China for Northern development |
With 52,000 persons belonging to 17,000 IDP families
being resettled in stages in Karachi, Poonageri, Pachchilapallai and
Kandawalai in the Kilinochchi district, steps were being taken for
them to resume their livelihoods.
The Government had laid plans to put 4,000 acres
under paddy cultivation during the forthcoming Yala season in the
Kilinochchi district.
This will include 1,200 acres adjoining the
Akkarayankulam tank and 2,000 acres around the Iranamadu tank that
would be cultivated.
During the recent Maha season 600 acres of land in
the Poonagiri Division and 2,000 acres in the Karachi division came
under paddy cultivation.
Arrangements are under way to provide sufficient
seed paddy and the fertiliser subsidy for the farmers with the
Agrarian Services Department coming forward to provide them with a
land preparation allowance of Rs 4,000 per acre.
The District Secretariat for Kilinochchi (Kachcheri
) has commenced functioning and the Kilinochchi Hospital that was
being repaired has commenced services.
Over 1728 IDPs have been resettled in Kandaveli, 244
IDPs and 2030 IDPs in Madu and 915 IDPs in Mullaitivu. Another batch
of 2000 IDPs have also been resettled in Marathimeipattu, Mulliativu.
Over 1400 IDPs have been resettled in Karachi, Kilinochchi while
another 700 IDPs have been resettled in Oddusuddan, Mullaitivu.
Under a fresh move to construct 1000 bridges
throughout the country, the Ministry of Highways plans to give
special focus to roads in the North and the East.
The total number of IDPs in welfare centres has been
reduced to 66,829 with the Government's expedited resettlement
process.
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