Hence the Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services along with the other responsible authorities decided to provide temporary shelter for these innocent civilians in the North and East.

However, after the first resettlement programme which was conducted for this year in Mannar at the Musali District Secretariat (DS) division on April 30, another new chapter of the on going continuousresettlement programmes by the Ministry opened as the Ministry along with the guidance of the senior advisor to the President, Basil Rajapaksa, resettled 41,685 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in four districts in the North last Thursday.

In addition to this event, a foundation stone was laid by Rajapaksa to build a new tourist hotel under the patronage of the National Lotteries Board (NLB) near the Yodha Wewa area where a new district secretariat office was opened in Kanthankulam, Manthei West.

Addressing the gathering at the function which was held in relation to the resettlement programme at the St.Xavier’s College in Mannar, Government Agent (GA) of the Mannar District, A.Nicholaspillai stated that the people of the Manthei West were very much grateful to Basil Rajapaksa for his keen interest in assisting in the resettlement of the IDPs as well as in re- cultivating the land in the district.

“The government is also providing free seeds to our farmers and clearing the jungle areas with the intention of rebuilding the economy once again which was fallen apart for more than a decade in these areas,” he noted.

“As the Bishop of Mannar, I know how much Basil Rajapaksa is committed to this programme. All of us living in Mannar know about his dedication and his commitment to the resettlement programme,” the Bishop of Mannar, Rt. Rev Rayappu Joseph said. He further added that he would like to thank not only the government but also Rajapaksa for his efforts under the ‘Uthuru Wasanthaya’ programme as well.

Re-settled

The IDPs who have been in transitional villages up to now, have been resettled in Districts such as Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaithivu and in Kilinochchi. In comparison to other districts, the Mullaithivu District has the highest amount of IDPs who have been resettled, totalling 16,394 of the entire population. The rest of the districts carry a total of 8643, 6631 and 10,017 of IDPs respectively.

The DS divisions in the Vavuniya District include, DS Vavuniya with 27 Grama Niladhari (GN) divisions with a population of 3595, Vengalachcheddikulam with 15 GN divisions with a population of 3414, Vavuniya South with 12 GN divisions with a population of 1634.

The DS divisions in the Mannar District include Mannar West with 19 GN divisions with a population of 5481, and Mannar Town with 10 GN divisions with a population of 1150.

The DS division in the Mullaithivu District includes Oddusudan with four GN divisions with a population of 1391, Manthei East with six GN divisions with a population of 4691 and Thunukkai with 20 GN divisions with a population of 10312.

The DS division in the Kilinochchi District includes Karachchi with one GN division with a population of 2981 and Poonakary with four GN divisions with a population of 7036.

Happy

Addressing the same gathering, the Governor of the Northern Province, Major General G.A.Chandrasiri stated that it was a very happy day for all the participants in this programme under which more than 41,000 of the refugees were being resettled on lands in their own territory.

S.R.Nelson, 42, from Kanthankulam was one of the first refugees present on the occasion to speak to The Nation.

“I am a farmer by profession and I have been living in places such as Mullaithivu, Kilinochchi and Muhamalai for two years as an immigrant. Ultimately, I came to this refugee camp in Vavuniya,” he said. He added that he was extremely happy at the present as they do not have to be afraid of the future unlike in the past. I have two children, a girl and a boy. Now my children can go to school and we can live a normal happy life.”

Edward Ivon Marina who is 18 -years- old and hails from Kanthankulam said that it was after three years that she was finally being made a permanent resident under this programme. “I was in Chettikulam for three months. After coming here, I am now studying for my Advanced Level (A/L) examination which I hope to sit next year,” she said.

She added that she obtained one ‘A’, ‘2Bs’, ‘3Cs’ and two simple passes at the ordinary level (O/L) examination.
“I have ten members in my family including myself. My father is a farmer by profession,” she added.

Marina further said that she had lost most of her friends and relatives because of the war and she and her family were traumatised by that experience. “There were landmines everywhere. But now we can look forward to a happy future and we hope that the government will also help us to achieve that goal.”

S.Jenita, 50, who is from Alakulam, stated that she had become extremely exhausted living in IDP camps because of the shortage of water, poor sanitation as well as a inadequate food. “My husband is dead and I have a son who is married at present. I hope to cultivate the land and grow some crops once I go into my new home. I do not know when I will die, but before that I am looking forward to living a peaceful life by having my own home. My son is educated. He has studied up to the A/L. So I am hoping that in the future he will be able to do a government job,” she added.

Thirunadu Tharusu, 60, from Adampan said that he was a farmer by profession though he and the other farmers had been unable to do any farming at the time when the LTTE was in power over their district. “The LTTE did not let us to cultivate or to do a job. They took us by force into their organisation. Our children were unable to go to school. The LTTE came and took them away,” he added.

According to Tharusu they are looking forward to a happy life from now onwards, and they are hoping that the government will help them to realise their dreams.

Shermila Mariyagampillei, 27 years of age, who is a teacher from the St.Xavier’s College in Mannar stated that she hoped something good would come out of this new programme which would benefit children in the camps and brighten their future.

Develop

Addressing the same event Rajapaksa stated that the IDPs who were at refugee camps up to now, are receiving their own lands today because of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s ability to bring the war to an end thereby helping them to return to their own lands from where they had fled due to confrontation with the LTTE.

“According to the President ,this area will be developed by opening new agricultural services centres, co-operatives, Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) offices and also by reconstructing rivers and canals which were destroyed,” stated Rajapaksa.

He further stated that they hoped to develop the infrastructural facilities in the area as well as help the farmers by providing their needs with aid from the government as well as agricultural related organisations.

“We are hoping to reconstruct everything that was in the area such as roads, culverts, railway, electricity along with all the other necessity items,” he added.

He further stated that the government is looking forward to supplying water for 13,411 acres of paddy in the area from November 1 onwards and by November 20 they are hoping to supply water to another 11,026 acres of paddy.

“We are also hoping to reconstruct the roads leading from Puttalam to Mannar, and from Mannar to Jaffna and we hope to riase the Yodha Wewa bund by two feet.”

Rajapaksa further stated that an immense effort had been made by the defence personnel to clear the landmines in this area. “We have to also thank the Indian Government for the generous aid it has given us in resettling the IDPs. Our grateful thanks go to the Indian Government in this respect,” he said.

While addressing the gathering Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services, Rishard Badurudeen stated that the Opposition was always criticising the government at they have not made proper amendments in resettling the IDPs, although Sri Lanka is the only country which had resettled 200,000 people in a single district ( Mullaitvu) within 40 days.

The IDPs who are being resettled will be also provided with agricultural equipment, kitchen equipment, roofing sheets along with many more other items so that in the future, they could lead a normal life, like any other citizen in the country.

COURTESY:THE NATION