Resettlement going a pace

Rapid de-mining:

Dharma SRI ABEYRATNE

In line with the Government’s speedy resettlement program, around 4,000 displaced people housed in welfare villages are resettled daily, Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya said.

The de-mining process is conducted rapidly by the Army with the assistance of certain organizations aiming to resettle the people who have been displaced due to terrorist activities of the LTTE as soon as possible, he said.

The de-mining process has been expedited as the resettlement program is mainly based on de-mining activities. Therefore, more Army personnel have been engaged in the de-mining activities.

The Army personnel who were earlier serving in various platoons such as Engineering and others have been deployed for de-mining activities.

Accordingly, 475 more Army personnel are engaged in de-mining activities during the last month.

The Army is using three types of de-mining methods such manual, mechanical and de-mining using ‘Mine Detecting Dogs’. The Government took steps to import hi-tech de-mining machines for mechanical de-mining process and presently these machines are utilized in the process.

Apart from many well-trained mine defusing teams of the Sri Lankan Army engaging in de-mining activities, sniffer dogs too are being deployed for the exercise.