[JAFFNA round up]

Statue arm breaks off

The right arm of the 72 feet Anjaneyar statue installed at the Inuvil Maruthanamadam Anjaneyar Kovil premises fell to the ground, severed from the shoulder on January 27.

The statue had been made by South Indian artistes and the consecration ceremony of the statue had been held on January 19 and 20. An architect said that the statue was installed in a hurry and that this could have been the reason for the severing of the heavy arm. The statue was built at a cost of 1 1/2 m rupees.

Students felicitated

Twenty four students who obtained the best results at the last GCE Ordinary Level Examination were felicitated at a function held at the Northern Province Governor's office. The Governor and Minister Douglas Devanda presented cheques of ten thousand rupees each to the students. They were also presented with bicycles.

The 24 students were from the five districts in the Northern Province. The Principals and parents of the 24 students were invited to the felicitation ceremony.

For Olympiad contest

Two students from Vembadi Girls' College and Vavuniya South Madhya Maha Vidyalaya have been invited to attend the Physical Olympiad Contest in Indonesia.

Sivasubramaniam Pavithiran of Vavuniya South MMV and Mithrikka Mikunthan of Vembadi Girls College are the invitees.

Red Lady for export

The cultivation of 'Red Lady' papaw is being given a fillip in Vavuniya by the ILO. Two hundred persons have been given saplings for plantation and three million rupees as assistance for papaw cultivation. Each person had been given 170 saplings. The Deputy Director of Agriculture disclosed that the scheme had been favourably followed by the selectees.

A co-operative society has also been formed for papaw cultivation and an export company is ready to purchase the fruits for export.

Paddy cultivation destroyed

Eleven thousand six hundred acres of paddy lands had been submerged in floods in the Kilinochchi District recently. The inclement weather and floods during the latter part of last year caused heavy destruction in the paddy growing areas.

Paddy cultivated in the Kilinochchi District was also destructed by floods the Assistant Commissioner for Agrarian Service stated at the Agriculture Co-ordinating Committee meeting.

Social Service Award

The highest national award for social service leaders was awarded to Lion Selvarajah at the Nuwara Eliya Angel hotel recently. He is a Justice of the Peace and a holder of Lankaputhra and Visvakeerthi awards too.

Police emergency station

A police emergency service station was opened recently in the Jaffna town to arrest the spiralling criminal offences in Jaffna. The Deputy DIG Northern Range Eric Perera opened the station equipped with modern telecommunication services. The Deputy Supdt of Police Jaffna, the OIC Jaffna Police station Saman Chikare were present at the opening ceremony.