Families in Poonthottam welfare centre to be resettled

Hemanthi Guruge

Vavuniya Government Agent P S M Charles said that the Poonthottam welfare centre in Vavuniya will be closed with the resettlement of the remaining families who were displaced by terrorist activities.

She said that the government has taken a policy decision to close all IDP camps after resettling the displaced. A large numbers of families who were living in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts were accommodated in this welfare centre, following terrorist atrocities during the past 15 years.

She said that the government has already resettled a large number of people from this centre in several areas. "About 800 families remain in the welfare centre. They had been living here for over a decade and they are now reluctant to go back to their original villages," Charles said.

"Arrangements will be made to close the centre soon after resettling all the displaced people," she said. The government has spent a large sum for the upkeep of the people in this centre during the last several years, Charles said.