247 families receive lands cleared of land mines
Minister Basil Rajapaksa on Sunday (10) officially handed back the lands to 247 families in Thanankilappu area in the Chavakachcheri- Pooneryn road after it was cleared of land mines by the Sri Lanka Army.
The minister speaking on the occasion said that the government has given the first priority to uplift the living conditions of the people who were badly affected by the thirty year war. Now the displaced people have been fully resettled in the Jaffna district. Once the mine clearing in certain places in Mullaitivu is cleared they too would be resettled soon.
The military has also constructed 45 houses for the poorest of the poor in the area and made the infrastructure facilities enabling the peasant to engage in cultivation activities.
00p21The minister speaking said that the Chavakachcheri – Pooneryn road via Thanankilappu will be developed as a carpeted road to make it as link road between the A-9 highway and the A- 35 highway over the Sangupitty new bridge. The Minister said once this link road is developed the lands and property value in these areas will go up.
“pl do not sell your properties and wait for the development of the road that will bring you the pride and vale for your properties” was message to the people of the north.
The minister also made the initiatives for other facilities such electricity supply, water supply and a bus service was also inaugurated.
As an immediate assistance the minister sanctioned required money to provide 200 latrines each to all 15 DS divisions in the Jaffna District.
zcvbClearing of land mines is the most dangerous, important and the professional task being handled by the Army continuously in the entire northern region. NGOs involved in mine clearing do handle it only between 8.30 and 4.00 pm for a period of two weeks. The according to international requirement the people employed are given a break and as a result of it, the mine clearing by the NGOs was not a continuous process.
In order to fill the vacuum of this time consuming exercise the Sri Lanka Army is now handling the task on a continuous basis and this has resulted in completing the resettlement of IDPs the Jaffna district last week with the last group of people were resettled in the presence of Minister Basil Rajapaksa
With normalcy returns to Jaffna the local tourism has boosted and with the lifting of travel restriction on foreign passport holders it expects further increase in the values of properties there. The expatriate Sri Lankans are seems to be gradually visiting their places of living and they are engaged in modernizing their homes to be converted as tourist guest houses.
The authorities say the number of applications they receive to register Guest Houses is on the increase as it has become a lucrative business. A housing unit so converted as Guest House is rented out to Rs 7000.00 to 10,000.00 per night.
Courtesy: Government News Portal
Latest Headlines in Sri Lanka
- Sri Lanka welcomes 2 millionth tourist, marking historic milestone December 26, 2024
- Sri Lanka Police introduces nighttime traffic rules to enhance safety December 26, 2024
- Today marks 20 years since 2004 Tsunami Disaster December 26, 2024
- Wasantha Handapangoda passes away December 25, 2024
- PM Harini Amarasuriya calls for togetherness, gratitude, and peace this Christmas December 25, 2024
I bumped into this news item and have pleasure in presenting it to On Lanka readers, with no comments:
If there is a Saravanamuttu stadium in Colombo what is wrong having a stadium in MR’s name in the North ? –Karuna questioning
(Lanka-e-News -10.July.2011, 11.30PM)
Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna , the Minister for rehabilitation questioned, if there can be a Saravanamuttu stadium in Colombo , what is wrong in having a stadium in the north in the name of President Mahinda Rajapakse ?
Karuna Amman making a statement to the Tamil media , said, the Hindu temple (Kovil) in Panadura which was built by Prabhakaran’s father is still safe and existing and no one from the south destroyed it during the 30 year period of the war.
Karuna Amman said , he had requested Minister Basil Rajapakse to build a stadium in the name of President Rajapakse in the Eastern District , and while dwelling on the subject of channel 4 video footage he made an astonishing comment : the Govt. should make a video film and publicize the murders committed by the LTTE including Aranthalawa Bhikkhu murders , bombs planted at Dalada maligawa, the genocide committed in front of the Anuradhapura Sri maha Bodhi and planting of bombs in buses.