IDP resettlement in Jaffna on top gear

Resettling the internally displaced civilians in the High Security Zone (HSZ) in the Jaffna Peninsula has been expedited with around thousand civilians awaiting to return to their original places of dwelling with the mine clearing in the HSZ which is to be completed shortly, the Chairman of the High Security Zone Committee and Jaffna High Court Judge, R.T. Vicknaraja said.

He told the Sunday Observer that the Supreme Court ordered the HSZ committee to work on the modalities of clearing the bunds and reactivating the premier educational institutions, Mahajana and the Union Colleges in Tellipalai and restructuring the Base hospital in Tellipalai which are situated within the High Security Zone of Jaffna.

Following the Supreme Court order the HSZ Committee headed by the Jaffna High Court Judge will meet this week to look into the modalities of expediting the resettlement process and reactivating the schools and the Tellipalai hospital which are situated within the HSZ.

The Jaffna HSZ committee also comprises the Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Mendaka Samarasinghe and the Government Agent K. Ganesh.

Chairman Vicknaraja elaborating further on the resettlement process said that the Security Forces in Jaffna were very cooperative in carrying out the resettlement process. "The de-mining is currently in progress in the HSZ areas and around 600 civilians have been permitted to settle back in their original places of dwelling. Screening of civilians to be permitted to settle back in the HSZ is being carried out by the Government Agent.

Thousand more are awaiting to be resettled in the HSZ once the mine clearing is completed," he said. Judicial Service Commission has initiated measures to reactivate devastated court houses in Mallakam,Chavakachcheri, Point Pedro and Kayts which are currently functioning in private buildings with limited facilities, he further said.

The Jaffna Courts buildings which were in bad shape are now functioning in new buildings with their renovations completed two years ago.

A new thirty member committee comprising serving judges, retired judges and senior attorneys from Jaffna will soon begin the work of reactivating the devastated court houses in the Peninsula due to war in the past, Vicknaraja said.

Courtesy : Sunday Observer