Krishna: India committed to rehabilitation of IDPs in Sri Lanka, ready to do more

He was speaking at a function in Kilinochchi to mark the handing over of a renovated school and completed houses at Ariyalai Nagar I.

 

Sri Lanka's Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, Foreign Minister G L Peiris and Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda were among those present at the event.

 

The school is part of a project undertaken by India for repairs of 79 war-damaged schools in the three districts of Kilinochchi, Mulaittivu and Vavuniya in the Northern Province. 

 

Krishna said the project was conceived with the objective of assisting early restoration of educational activities for children of resettled IDPs and to deliver a facelift to basic educational infrastructure of the region.

 

"I am happy to note that as a result of this intervention families will be able to send their children to schools, and students will have a decent learning environment offering them a better future," he said

 

Earlier, in a ceremony at District General Hospital, Kilinochchi, he handed over critical medical equipment to improve the standard of medical care and obviate the need to refer cases for treatment to Jaffna or Colombo via ambulances. Similar equipment has also been provided to the Mullaitivu District General Hospital. 

 

"We have supported other projects in the area of health-care, like providing emergency medical relief and organizing artificial limbs refitment camps immediately after the end of the war as also by donating medical equipment to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital. The Government of India has also recently approved the proposal for construction of 200 bed ward complex at the District General Hospital, Vavunia. India has been supporting other projects for rehabilitation, resettlement and well-being of displaced persons in the Northern Province," he said.

 

Krishna said the houses had been constructed in the pilot phase for 1,000 houses under the Housing Project which was launched during his visit in November 2010.

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"I am happy to hand over these houses to beneficiaries of Ariviyal Nagar here and at Ariyalai in Jaffna later in the day. I am sure that the lessons learnt from this pilot phase will be useful in the implementation of the next phase of the project for 49,000 houses for which Minister Peiris and I signed an MOU yesterday on behalf of our two governments to ensure smooth execution," he said.

 

Krishna, who is on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka, also attended a ceremony for distribution of bicycles to IDPs and the announcement of completion of wreck removal in the Kankesanthurai Port

 

He said the housing project was truly the flagship project of India’s development assistance to Sri Lanka and, one of the largest grant assistance project undertaken by the Government of India in any part of the world. 

 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made the offer to construct 50,000 houses in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka during the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India in June 2010. 

 

Yesterday, Peiris and Krishna igned a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to construct the remaining 49,000 houses under this project, involving a grant assistance of  $ 260 million from India. Both sides will follow the best practices in implementation of this Project, particularly in beneficiary selection and grievance handling, Krishna said.

 

He said the project to distribute 10,000 bicycles to the returning IDPs in the five districts of the Northern Province would enhance and anchor their return. 

 

"There exists a special relationship between the people of the Northern Province in general and Jaffna Peninsula in particular and those of southern India," he said.

 

He announced the completion of wreck removal work at the KKS Harbour at a cost of $ 19 million. This is expected to facilitate marine trade in Jaffna peninsula and revive economic activity in Northern Province.

 

"We stand ready to provide further grant assistance for the next phase of the project. We are undertaking rehabilitation of Achuvely Industrial Zone to create employment opportunities in Northern Province and to provide a platform for industrial development of Jaffna," he said.

 

Krishna hoped the Government of Sri Lanka will develop Palaly as a civilian airport and restore its connectivity with India and within Sri Lanka. This would give tremendous fillip to the local economies in the two countries, he said.

 

He said that, to redevelop the sports infrastructure of Jaffna, India had undertaken renovation of Duraiyappah Stadium. He said India intended to build the Jaffna Cultural Centre next to the Public Library. 

 

"Last evening, I was shown the design of the proposed Centre. I am confident that this Centre will emerge as a cultural icon and help rejuvenate such activities," he said.

 

Krishna said Sri Lanka had emerged from three decades of armed conflict. "Now peace has dawned. It is our sincere hope that the vision and leadership that resulted in an end to the armed conflict will now be employed in the quest for a genuine political settlement based on devolution of power resulting in national reconciliation among all the communities of Sri Lanka," he said.

 

"We have noted the constructive recommendations contained in the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and look forward to their implementation. It is also our hope that the process of dialogue presently underway will lead to a meaningful devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, which would create the necessary conditions for a lasting political settlement. India will do everything possible to assist in this process," he said.

 

"I would like to reiterate that the Government and people of India will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Government of Sri Lanka and the people of the Northern Province all possible assistance in their reconstruction efforts," he added.

 

NNN

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