NGO's Consortium to co-ordinate relief work in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 29 December 2004, 06:14 GMT]
The Trincomalee District Consortium of Non-Governmental Organizations (TDCNGO) has established an Operation Room in its office working round the clock to channel the distribution of relief materials brought to the east port town in lorries by several welfare and humanitarian organizations from other parts of the country to Tsunami victims following complaints that such assistance arriving are diverted by parties with vested interests in a haphazard manner not reaching the needy in remote areas, sources said.

Consortium chairman Mr.Thavasilingam addressing

TDCNGO held an urgent meeting Tuesday at its office, which is located in Post Office Road, Trincomalee and decided to set up the operational room with immediate effect. Representatives of about forty NGOs and International NGOs participated in the meeting chaired by Mr.T.Thavasilingam, Consortium Chairman.

Several representatives complained that relief measures now being implemented by the government authorities are not satisfactory. The figures collected by the government agencies have failed to reflect the accurate damages caused to people and the supply of relief materials to the victims is not taking place according to priority. Victims sheltered in remote villages are not provided with adequate assistance and their urgent needs are not attended to, they pointed out.

Cooked meals are supplied excess to victims sheltered in urban areas but others in remote villages are found starving as the civil authorities are not diverting relief materials rural areas, representatives said.

Victims sheltered in LTTE controlled villages in Eachchilampathu and Muttur divisions are totally neglected by the government agencies not only supplying dry rations and other relief materials but even with cooked meals, representatives complained.


(L-T) SLRC Trincomalee chairman Dr.Gnanagunalan, Mr.Thavasilingam, Mr.V.Kalaivarnan of TRO, Mr.Sutharman of UNICEF ( addressing )

Several representatives of NGOs demanded the Consortium to intervene and take steps to divert adequate relief materials to areas controlled by LTTE, not depending on the government agencies.

The timely action taken by several NGOs in the district soon after Tsunami hit the coastal belt has saved several lives being perished in Tsunami. Government agencies are still not taking any positive measures to provide assistance to the victims, representatives pointed out.


NGOs representatives attend special meeting