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| Thursday, 06 January 2005 |
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by Uditha Kumarasinghe The Agriculture, Lands and Irrigation Ministry has taken steps to provide immediate relief measures to nearly 23,000 families in the Galle district who have been displaced following the Tsunami disaster. In order to speed up relief measures, Agriculture, Lands and Irrigation Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake held discussions with key Ministry officials at the Galle District Secretariat on January 2. Galle District Secretary G. Hewavitharana and high officials representing the Agriculture Department, Agrarian Services Department, Irrigation Department and Provincial Land Commissioner's Department were present at the discussion. Minister Dissanayake has already taken steps to seek the assistance from the 500 Agriculture Research and Production Officers (ARPOs) in the Galle district to rehabilitate areas in Galle district destroyed by tidal waves. These 500 ARPOs will be divided into 50 member groups to supervise clearing work in these affected areas, a Ministry spokesman told the Daily News. "According to statistics over 23,000 families in the Galle district have been displaced while 10,000 families have lost their shelter. Therefore, arrangements are being finalised by the Government to provide lands to these families." In order to identify state lands for distribution among these displaced families, a joint committee has been appointed represented by Land Commissioner's Department, Land Reforms Commission and Urban Development Authority. This committee has already identified 140 hectares of land in the Galle district and will continue to seek out Government lands which are suitable for dwelling, he said. At this discussion, Minister Dissanayake instructed the officials to provide lodgings at Ministry circuit bungalows to the foreign doctors, engineers, soldiers and other relief groups who come to Sri Lanka to assist these Tsunami victims, free of charge, he said. He said at present 185 camps have been set up in the Galle district to provide facilities and attend to the needs of these displaced families. However a large number of displaced people are still live outside these camps. Therefore the Minister issued instructions to the officials to take steps to register these people living outside these camps. He requested the assistance of ARPOs, Samurdhi Development Officers and Grama Niladharis for this purpose. |
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