Post Conflict Reawakening in North-East

Anura MAITIPE

The Re-awakening Project launched under the Nation Building Ministry with the financial assistance of the World Bank amounting to Rs. 1,800 million is a community driven development project and it has launched livelihood development projects in 300 selected focal villages in conflict affected districts of Anuradhapura, Ampara, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, Moneragala, Mannar, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mulliaithvu the Project Director P. H. Sugathadasa said. The project aims to recreate lost assets of conflict affected people and keep them away from dependence syndrome.

These people have been addicted to dependence lifestyle following long stay of temporary camps by receiving free things from various organisations, he said.

The main objective of this project is to strengthen the community to regain their pride which had been lost due to the conflict in the Northern and Eastern provinces.

The project has provided equal opportunity and full authority to the community at village level in planning, monitoring and implementation of selected long-term livelihood development activities to increase their income. Under this program project, have been provided with funds for medium scale infrastructure development works such as rehabilitation of roads, irrigation tanks, drainage and canal etc. Re-awakening Project has undertaken rehabilitation of seven Major Irrigation Projects in Northern and Eastern provinces. Allai in Trincomalee district, Rugam in Batticaloa district, Karavahu in Ampara district, Giants Tank in Mannar district, Pavatkulam in Vavuniya district, Valukkaiaru in Jaffna district, and Iranamadu in Killinochchi district.

The rehabilitation works at Allai, Karavahu and Valukkaiaru are nearing completion and rehabilitation of other schemes excluding Iranamadu is also in progress.

These schemes provide irrigation for thousands of hectares of paddy land in these two provinces. With the completion of the projects farmers living in North and East will be benefited.

However construction work of Iranamadu which was delayed due to the conflict in the area will be commenced soon with the clearance of mines by Armed Forces.