All set to receive civilian influx
Rasika Somarathna
The Government yesterday said that their early preparations, to cater
to an expected exodus of displaced civilians had paid rich dividends, in
successfully meeting the needs of more than 49,000 IDPs who had arrived
from Mullaitivu since yesterday evening.
Disaster Relief Services Minister Ameer Ali said authorities had made
preparations in advance, to cater to an expected influx of 58,000 IDPs.
Welfare villages such as Arunachalam, Kadirgamar and Zone 1 in
addition to a number of schools in Vavuniya and Omanthai were prepared
in advance.
“In addition, we also kept 6,700 tents as emergency shelter material,
along with buffer food stocks and medicine,” he added.
Thus when the expected exodus occurred, a well coordinated mechanism
was already in place to effectively expedite all relief measures, the
Minister said.As a result, the relief measures are progressing smoothly
under the personal supervision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, he added.
“We expect a further 30,000 to 40,000 IDPs from the ‘safe zone’
during the coming days and preparations are underway to cater to their
needs as well,” the Minister noted.
The Minister said 1,000 acres are being prepared as welfare villages
to provide viable temporary shelter to IDPs in three locations namely,
Parayankulam (600 acres), Medawakkuli\Chettikulam (200 acres) and Menik
farm\Chettikulam (200 acres).
Three specialised teams have been sent to the area to expedite work
on necessary infrastructure.
In addition medical teams with quipments, drugs and personnel too
have been sent.
“For transportation purposes, we have deployed 154 buses and are
planning to send more during the coming days,” Minister Ali added.
According to authorities before yesterday evening, 74,383 displaced
civilians were housed in Welfare villages and with the new additions.
The total number of IDPs who have sought refuge from Government
authorities since January this year has risen to over 122,000. |