At least 45,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) now in Menik Farm at Vavuniya are being moved to smaller temporary shelters in the Mannar and Jaffna districts, a senior official said yesterday.
This is ahead of the expected north-east monsoon rains, Re-Settlement Ministry Secretary M. Halaldeen said. He said officials including the Government Agents for the respective districts along with the security forces are presently engaged in drawing up plans to provide proper accommodation for the IDPs.
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| The IDPs moving out from Menik Farm on Friday. |
The bulk of the people would be encouraged to move into their original homes or take shelter with relatives or friends. Those who do not have either will be housed in temporary shelters that may include schools, kovils, churches and other Government buildings, Mr. Halaldeen said.
The most urgent issue at the moment is finding tents and other building materials needed for the construction of shelters, he said. “We would be seeking the assistance of the UN agencies and other organizations towards this end,” Mr. Halaldeen said.
Apart from the weather factor, the authorities are also finding it difficult to sustain such a large number of people in a single place and are also apparently wilting under international pressure to re-settle the people in their original homes, sources with the UN said.
So far the Government has allowed some 50,000 people to leave the camps and join their extended families or friends living in the north and east of the country.
The latest batch of more than 9,000 people left the camp on Friday. |
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