Construction of TEWS expedited

Nimal Wijesinghe, Anuradhapura Additional District Group Correspondent

The establishment of the two Tsunami Early Warning Systems (TEWS) at Mahakanadarawa in Anuradhapura and Hakmana in the South is being accelerated, in the aftermath of the powerful 7.0 quake which shook 'Haiti' on January 12.

The German governments Geo Research Centre assists the Sri Lanka's Geological Survey's and Mines Bureau in the implementation of the two centres which will be linked to the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System in Jakarta GSMB Chairman Dr. N.A. Wijayananda who is entrusted with the project implementation assisted by German team of geo scientists told the Daily News that the completion of the Hakmana and Mahakanadarawa early warning centres was delayed for months due to objections raised by the archaeological authorities for the excavation of several rock structures in the two sites.

The Archaeological Department didn't give the permission for excavation as the rock structures were of historical and archaeological value.

The Chairman said following Archaeological Commissioner Senarath Dissanayake's visit to the sites, he has given sanction to continue the work on the basis of its national and international importance.

The geo scientists Mahinda Seneviratne attached to the GSMB, who is coordinating the construction work, said the German team of geo experts would arrive in Sri Lanka to attend to the implementation of the final stage of the two projects in mid February.