 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Situation Report-Jaffna Peninsula
22nd September 2006
GENERAL SITUATION
- The Bishop of Jaffna has written to the President of Sri Lanka and the leader of the LTTE to see that the prevailing situation does not worsen till the negotiation for peace and reconciliation starts in October.
- The Bishop of Jaffna has written a letter addressed to the President of Sri Lanka, stressed the need to open the A-9 highway and citing the following:
- 500 ton food stuff and fuel for Jaffna used to be transported by 200 vehicles daily.
- Patients for further treatment travelled by ambulance by this road to Colombo.
- Govt. servants, UN officers, University students and staff and officials of NGOs used this road.
- Agricultural products, and sea food is transported daily to Colombo markets.
- Daily 5000 people used this road to travel from South to North and vice versa and now more than twenty thousand people are stranded in both sides.
- Sand, cement, metal rods, etc for tsunami reconstruction works are transported through this road.
- About ten acres of vegetables cultivated land in Ketpaly in Thenmaradchy had been abandoned as the families in the village were displaced.
- The Japanese govt. has allocated a further LKR.143 millions for mine clearance activities. It was reported that there were land mines in 730 villages and mines in 230 villages were already cleared and handed over and clearance in another 200 villages is in progress.
- University students hostels are congested as students from other districts are staying there and due to poor sanitary conditions of inadequate water supply due to restricted electricity supply. It is feared that infectious diseases would spread in the camps as a result.
FOOD, NON-FOOD ITEMS
- On the request of the Vice chancellor of the University the Jaffna Govt. Agent had arranged for the provision of essential food items free of any charges to the students from other districts staying in the University hostels.
- The Govt. Agent Jaffna has issued a press releast stating that only 5,399 Mt. of food items were received by Merks Ruhunu (3,624 Mt., Merks Hind (900 Mt.) and Liverpool (1,875 Mt) and this is sufficient for three weeks consumption and not for three months as some papers have reported.
- Essential food items worth LKR.50,000. were stolen from the Kannathiddy branch of the Jaffna MPCS. These items were kept for issues as relief to displaced persons.
- The third phase food items will be given to the people in the following basis, but the amount of items issued in the 2nd phase would be deducted:
Free relief issues for the families: (Families of Displaced, Fishermen, unemployed workers)
No. of members
Rice Kg
Wheat flour Kg
Sugar Kg
1
2.575
2.000
0.500
2
6.100
4.300
0.700
3
9.175
5.400
1.000
4
11.025
6.400
1.250
5 & more
13.200
8.400
2.000
Issues for the payment for families
No. of members
Rice Kg
Wheat flour Kg
Sugar Kg
Dhall Kg
1
4.000
2.000
1.000
1.000
2
8.000
4.000
1.500
1.000
3
12.000
6.000
2.000
1.000
4
16.000
8.000
2.500
1.000
5 & more
20.000
10.000
3.000
1.000
TRAVEL & VEHICLES
- The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has supplied 6,600 Litters of diesel to the Ceylon Transport Board which would be sufficient to operate buses for three days. Consequently the CTB has arranged for the plying of buses on all the routes.
- 33 persons of Jaffna who were stranded in Vavuniya have arrived by boat to Delft through Mannar.
- The Gurunagar Youth Club has requested the Jaffna Bishop to make arrangements for the pilgrims to Madhu Shrine from Gurunagar to return home as their family members in Jaffna are very much inconvenienced.
EDUCATION
- Boycott of schools in the peninsula is continuing.
DISPLACEMENT
- Displaced life is still continuing in some areas.
KILLINGS
- Nadarajah Thavarasa (39) of Chulipuram attached to the Chankanai post office was shot dead by unknown persons on the 21st.
- Kathiragamalingam amirthalingam (59) of Valvettithurai was shot dead by unknown persons who had come by motor cycle.
- Perampalam Lavakumar (27), Sellathurai Kartheeswaran (36) and Aiyathamby Kumarakulasingam (49) market trades from Thadivalai who had gone on their bicycles in the morning were found dead with gunshot injuries among bushes in Vilan in Ilavalai.
CURFEW LIFTED HOURS:
- Curfew has been lifted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Valigamam, Island, Thenmaradchy and Vadamaradchy divisions.
HUDEC-Cartias Jaffna
22nd September
Human Development Centre (HUDEC) - Caritas Jaffna, The Social arm of the Catholic Church in the Jaffna Diocese
P. O. Box 2, Bishop's House, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Tel/Fax: (094) - 021 - 222 2571 Email: hudec@sltnet.lk