IDPs reduced to 150,000

Irangika Range and Sandasen Marasinghe

Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services Minister Rishard Bathiudeen announced that the resettlement of 50 percent of the IDPs who were in the welfare villages in the Northern Province to their former homes was a major success or moreover a victory for the Government .

The number of internally displaced people had now been reduced to 150,000 from the original total number of IDPs of 280,000.

Minister revealed this information at the special media conference held in the Parliamentary Complex yesterday. "We are progressively going ahead in the resettlement process of the IDPs under the directive of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa in accordance with Northern Spring with the unstinted co-operation of Basil Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament, the Senior Advisor to the President and the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force," Minister said.

Nation Building Minister S.M. Chandrasena stated that 19 heavy machines had been imported from Czrech Republic to propel the de-mining process in the Northern Province.