Jaffna: Where people long for Putthandu with freedom and security

By N. Parameshwaran

The Putthandu (New Year) that dawned yesterday has not brought about any visible changes in the life of the people of Jaffna, except in terms of a slight drop in the prices of some food items and other essential goods – yet chicken was missing from the dining table.

Although prices of food items dropped slightly largely due to a steady supply that comes via Trinco-Jaffna ship service, the people feel insecure with little or no signs of a let-up in the violence that is gripping the peninsula.

The dusk-to-dawn curfew was relaxed allowing the people to do shopping for Puththandu and visit kovils and relatives. But the people longed for the freedom that helped them to enjoy five new years during the period of the ceasefire agreement which now exists only on paper.

Residents, however, say they should at least be happy about the availability of food items and the drop in prices. But others say the drop in prices was only marginal and the prices are still unaffordable for many poor people. Chicken is sold at Rs. 2,000 a kilo and only a few people could afford it. Coconut, a must ingredient in Jaffna’s culinary delicacies, is sold at Rs. 60 a nut.

The prices are still 10-20% higher than the marked price on packeted or bottled items.

Residents say that almost all essential items are back in the market with no queues outside shops and cooperative stores. The situation is better than what they went through a few months ago when they had to queue up soon after the curfew was lifted around 5.00 a.m.

In November-December last year, the Jaffna people faced a severe food shortage following a government decision to close the A9 highway in the wake of an escalation of hostilities between the security forces and the LTTE. The move prevented traders from sending food supplies to the north. The government later made arrangements to send food supplies via sea, but the supplies remained far below the demand.

The ration card system was introduced with only three kilos of rice and two kilos of sugar being issued to a person for a month. Two laundry soaps, two toilet soaps and a one-kilo packet of milk powder were issued to a family per month. Supplementary milk food items such as Nestomalt, Horlicks and Sustagen were issued only after the production of a medical certificate from a government hospital. Baby items were distributed through health clinics. Security forces took charge of the operation of selling the food items in six shops in important towns in the peninsula.