Under Gallenen Niwahanata:

Permanent shelter for Veddha community

The main objective of the Janasevana national housing program implemented under the Mahinda Chinthana policy is to make every family own a house, Housing and Common Amenities Minister Ferial Ashraff said.

"Under the Jana Sevana housing program the Gallenen Niwahanata program has been implemented on President Mahinda Rajapaksa's direction to provide permanent shelter to the Veddha community," she said at the ceremonial handing over the ownership of houses to the Veddha community. The houses are built in Hennanigala in the Ampara district.

The program had been implemented by the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) and Rs. 50,000 has been granted to each family to build permanent houses. These houses were built by themselves utilising the government grant and NHDA guidance.

The NHDA has given Rs. 50,000 for each family and these houses are valued at least between Rs. 200,000 to Rs. 300,000 and are built environment friendly utilising their hard earned savings and their labour.

The message given by this housing development program is that if a small grant and technical guidance were given to prospective house builders, the house could be built utilising their savings and their labour, Minister Ashraff said.

Leader of the Veddha community of Hennanigala, Uruwarige Kalubanda said the needs of the present community are changing with the needs of the modern society.

"The youth of our new generation have mixed with the modern society. Accordingly, the need for a permanent house has arisen instead of caves and make shift houses in which we are living today," he said.