With resettlement of last IDP batch:

Sahanagama winds up

Sandasen MARASINGHE

Vanni Security Forces Commander and Competent Authority for IDPs Major General Kamal Gunaratne stated that the Welioya Sahanagama Idp centre (13 Mile Post) for the IDP's was to be closed by evening yesterday as most of them were resettled and the rest being directed to the Zones 1 and 2 relief villages where more facilities were provided.

Addressing the media at the Vanni Security Forces Headquarters on Wednesday Major General Gunaratne said that the Darmapuram and Weerapuram Relief villages would be closed within three weeks.

He also stated that the IDP centres at Sumathipuram and Marathamadu were already closed.

Referring to the Welioya Sahanagama Idp centre Major General Gunaratne stated that there were only 349 IDPs belonging to a number of families where children were sitting for the GCE (O/L) examination 2009.

Arrangements were made for those students to sit their examination remaining at the Sahanagama Idp centre or else it could have been closed several weeks ago.

He said that as the examination was over those IDPs could be resettled while few of them were sent to the relief villages where more facilities were made available.

He also said that there were 6,933 IDPs in the Sahanagama Idp centre.

Referring to the statistics of the relief villages which were planned to be closed Gunaratne said that Darmapuram village had a strength of 5,011 initially and it had been reduced to 2,371 IDPs and Weerapuram that had an initial strength of 5,539 had been reduced to 1,138 by December 23.

Meanwhile, another 90 families with 324 members of the Zone 0 (Kadirgamar) Relief Village whose original villages were in Pooneryn in Kilinochchi were sent on Wednesday evening for resettlement at Pooneryn in 22 buses along with 11 lorries full of goods.

Each family was given cooking utensils, equipments for farming, roofing sheets and Rs 50,000. From all the IDP centers altogether around 1000 IDPs were sent for resettlement.