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| Friday, 4 February 2005 |
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| Deputy Minister outlines Govt's reconstruction plans in Batticaloa from Asanga Warnakulasuriya in Batticaloa The Government will allocate a permanent block of land for every family affected by the tsunami, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Deputy Minister D. M. Dassanayaka said. Addressing a top level development forum with the Batticaloa Government Agent, Divisional Secretaries, government officials, TNA members and the LTTE, the Deputy Minister said the government hopes to allocate this block of land on a selected site beyond the buffer zone. "On the selected sites, a temporary tent will be provided to each family till the groundwork is completed for the reconstruction of homes," he said. Dassanayake said the Government has already placed an order for 24,000 tents and 9,000 of them will arrive in Batticaloa this week. "We also hope to give a fixed toilet to every block instead of temporary ones which has a higher risk of spreading epidemic diseases. In deciding the allocation, the Ministry considered the privacy of families which has been lost due to three-four families sharing the same tent," the Deputy Minister said. The Government has already initiated a coupon system to families affected by the tsunami where family members can obtain essential food items for six months, the Deputy Minister added. "We urgently need earthmovers to clear the debris in the area," Batticaloa Government Agent V. Shanmugam said. It was also revealed that 12,000 children in Batticaloa town are to commence their new term since eight schools have been used as refugee camps. A total of 12 schools have been completely destroyed while 25 schools were partially damaged by the tsunami, a Batticaloa Zonal Director said. TNA Parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham applauding the government's efforts, requested it to give priority to the North-East since most people in North and East have been displaced by the 20-year-old conflict and the tsunami. Meanwhile, a separate discussion was held at the LTTE political office in Batticaloa where the Deputy Minister met LTTE political leader Kaushalyan to discuss the relief measures. The LTTE had pointed out that though several politicians from the South had visited the area, reconstruction was moving at snail's pace. The LTTE had also told the Deputy Minister that working with some officials has been a difficult task and requested the Minister to personally look into the development activities. |
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