Landmine-cleared land for 247 families

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa on Sunday officially handed back land to 247 families in Thanankilappu area on the Chavakachcheri-Pooneryn road after it was cleared of landmines by the Army. The minister said that the government has given top priority to uplift the living conditions of the people who were badly affected by the 30 year war. “The displaced people have now been fully resettled in the Jaffna district.

Once the mine clearing in certain places in Mullaitivu is completed, they too would be resettled soon,” he said.

The military has also constructed 45 houses for the poorest of the poor in the area and made the infrastructure facilities enabling the people to engage in cultivation, Rajapaksa said.

Minister Rajapaksa also said that the Chavakachcheri-Pooneryn road via Thanankilappu will be developed as a carpeted road to link it between the A-9 highway and the A-35 highway over the Sangupitty new bridge.

The minister said once this link road is developed the land and property value in these areas will go up. ”Do not sell your properties. Wait for the development of the road that will bring you the pride and value for your properties,” he told the people of the North.

The minister also made the initiatives for other facilities by inaugurating electricity supply, water supply and a bus service.

Minister Rajapsksa also sanctioned money to provide 200 latrines each, to all 15 DS divisions in the Jaffna district.

NGOs involved in mine clearing handle it only between 8.30 and 4.00 pm for two weeks. According to international requirement, the people employed are given a break and as a result of it, mine clearing by NGOs was not a continuous process. The Sri Lanka Army is handling the task on a continuous basis, this has resulted in completing the resettlement of IDPs in the Jaffna district last week with the resettlement of the last group of people in the presence of Minister Rajapaksa. With the return of normality in Jaffna, local tourism has received a boost while with the lifting of travel restriction on foreign passport holders, it is expected to further increase the value of property.

Authorities say the number of applications they receive to register guest houses is on the increase. A housing unit converted as a guest house is rented for between 7,000 to Rs 10,000 per night.