TRO starts housing project for Thiriyai resettlers

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 March 2003, 01:55 GMT]
Trincomalee district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr.R.Sampanthan, at twelve noon Thursday, laid the first foundation stone for the first house for resettled families at Kaddukulam in Thiriyai village, forty-two km north of Trincomalee town. Trincomalee district office of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) is building five hundred houses as part of this housing project, sources said.

Trinco district MP Mr.R.Sampanthan lays first stone

TNA national list parliamentarian Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, LTTE Trincomalee district political head Mr.S.Tilak, the head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in Trincomalee Mr.Jan Ledang and several others followed Mr. Sampanthan in laying additional foundation stones, sources said.

During the initial phase ten houses will be constructed for ten displaced families who have already resettled in their own lands after about twenty years, sources said.

Houses will be constructed as displaced families permanently return to their lands in Thiriyai, TRO sources said.

Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretary Mr. K.S.Jeyachandra, Zonal Director of Education Mr.K.Thilakaretnam, SLMM Trincomalee committee member Attorney-at-Law Mr.K.Sivapalan, TRO Trincomalee district co-ordinator Mr.K.Mathavarajah, Project Officer Mr.Kalaivarnan, Project Engineer Mr.Anton Wijekumar, TRO Directors Mr.C.Kumakurubaran and Mr.Sahul Hameed also attended the foundation-laying event, sources said.

SLMM Trincomalee head Mr.Jan Ledang lays foundation stone

Entire residents of Thiriyai were displaced twice- first time in 1985 and again in 1990. The village had more than one thousand permanent houses before it was abandoned by the residents following military operation launched by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). All houses were destroyed in military operation, sources said.

More than seven hundred Thiriyai displaced families now live in refugee camps and welfare centres waiting to return to their own lands in their place of birth, sources said.

With the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, families began cultivating about one thousand four hundred acres of paddy lands in Thiriyai.

The abandoned government Tamil school in Thiriyai village will start functioning from middle of May after more than twenty years. Fifty-four students are ready to attend Thiriyai School, education officials said.



A prayer before laying foundation for Thiriyai housing project