Newly developed topographical map presented to
minister:
Northern development easier now - Basil
The newly developed topographical map will provide details to plan
and design the Northern Province, Economic Development Minister Basil
Rajapaksa said.
He said so after receiving the first batch of the newly developed
topographical maps for the Jaffna district from Surveyor General of the
Survey Department S M W Fernando and Japanese Ambassador in Sri Lanka
Kunio Takahashi in Parliament on Thursday. Land and Land Develppment
Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon and Chief Representative of Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Sri Lanka Office Akira Shimura
were also present.
The project called "The Digital Topographic Mapping Project for
Reconstruction of Northern Region" has been implemented by the Survey
Department with technical cooperation from JICA since 2010 through its
grant assistance.
The maps available for Northern Province are decades old, and could
not be updated due to inaccessibility to the Northern area.
With JICA's assistance, aerial photography of the entire Northern
Province had been completed, and the maps are being developed for Jaffna
and Mannar districts.
The first batch, handed over on Thursday targeting the southern part
of Jaffna, consisted of 38 sheets. The maps for Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu
and Vavuniya districts will be developed by the Survey Department
utilizing aerial photos, equipment and techniques transferred through
the project.
Minister Rajapaksa thanked JICA and the Survey Department for
completing the digital map within a short period.
"Since the available maps for the Northern Province were decades old,
we confronted some problems in designing and planning the development
projects for resettlement, irrigation, tank renovation and highways
development. Now all the details are available for planning and
designing with this topographical map," minister said.
Surveyor General Fernando, said the detailed maps will enable
governmental organizations and development partners to efficiently plan
and design the development strategy of infrastructure, disaster
management, education and health in the Northern Province.
Survey Department and JICA will hold a seminar to introduce the
project's activities and share the result of technical transfer on
November 4.
Those maps will be available for public purchase from the Survey
Department of Sri Lanka from January 2012.
Disaster Management Deputy Minister Dulip Wijesekara Land and Land
Development Deputy Minister Siripala Gamlath also participated. |