IDPs looked after well

Lakshmi de SILVA

The relief transitional villages set up in four villages for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are provided with water, sanitation, schools, post offices with telephone facilities and other infrastructure facilities, Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services Minister Rihard Bathiutheen told the Daily News.

There were more than 62,000 IDPs and the Government has planned to resettle them in four relief transitional villages. There were 10,000 IDPs in the Kadirgamar Relief Transitional Village and the Government expects to resettle 3,000 families or around 15,000 people in each village.

In Arunachalam Relief transitional village there were 1,500 families and another 1,500 families will be resettled, he said. The Government has provided all facilities to the IDPs in Ramanathan and Ananda Coomarswamy Relief Transitional Villages, he said.

All the IDPs were screened for security and health and provided with food and medical care by the authorities. There were 15 other transit camps in school buildings, university hostels and other Government buildings too, Bathiutheen said. Children of IDP families have been provided with schools and voluntary teachers.

Special attention was given to pregnant mothers and new born infants at Poovarasankulam Maternity Ward until they are fit to get back to IDP villages.

There is also a special ward for the elderly and weak persons and a special ward for infectious diseases like chicken pox, he said.

At the beginning, the IDPs were reluctant to join the resettlement program conducted by the Government. But after their arrival in transit camps, they have found that the members of the Armed Forces and public officials were rendering humanitarian services to them. Now the IDPs are contended and have faith in the Government, he noted.

The resettlement and rehabilitation program was personally led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Senior Presidential Advisor and Parliamentarian Basil Rajapaksa had visited the IDPs and directed the officials to expedite the resettlement and relief services process, the Minister said.

The Musali area in the Mannar district has been de-mined and very soon the people who were displaced from this area will be resettled. Even the people who were displaced in Mulaitivu, killinochchi areas will be resettled as soon as the de-mining process is completed.