Japan helps IDPs in Vavuniya

Provides Rs. 117m to improve health facilities:

Lakshmi DE SILVA

The Japanese government and the people of Japan were happy to provide of Rs. 117 million to be utilized to improve the sanitary and health conditions of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Vavuniya and this special project was an important one not only domestically for Sri Lanka but also internationally, since the world community pays attention to the welfare of the IDPs in the North, Ambassador of Japan Kunio Takahashi said yesterday.

He made these observations after exchanging a Memorandum of Understanding for the special welfare project between the two governments at the Local Government and Provincial Councils Ministry, Colombo.

The Local Government bodies and Provincial Councils played a very important role and rural development was vital to improve the development of the whole country. The Japanese Government would support this effort, Takahashi said.

He also said a team from Chiba Prefecture, Japan with Noriaki Sanda, Akiro Doi and the other members of the JICA had worked tirelessly, visited Vavuniya and assisted in implementing this project for IDPs and it would improve the health conditions and empower the people in the North.

The aid package will provide much needed equipment for transportation of garbage, water and waste water and will include 26 tractors, four tipper lorries, two loaders, a backhoe loader and two pick up trucks.

Funds will also be used to improve roadside drains in the IDP camp sites. It is to be implemented soon by the Local Government and Provincial Council Ministry.

Local Government and Provincial Council Minster Janaka Bandara Thennakoon said the Japanese Government and its people had always helped Sri Lanka whenever the need arose and this gesture was for an extraordinary problem that the government of Sri Lanka had to face suddenly with a large number of IDPs after the war.

The Japanese government was the highest single donor nation that had helped us to face the IDP problem so that we could ensure their well being and rehabilitation.

The Minister said the government treated the IDPs as citizens who had equal rights with other groups of people and we are not prejudiced or biased against any of our people based on their ethnicity.