Schools complicate Valaiyiravu SLAF airport expansion plans

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 September 2003, 02:04 GMT]
High level officers from Colombo head quarters of Sri Lanka Airforce (SLAF) visited Valaiyiravu military airport in Batticaloa district yesterday to investigate the feasibility of expanding the airport while the two schools, Puthur Vigneswara Vidiyalayam and Valaiyiravu Methodist Vidiyalayam, remain located in close proximity to the perimeter of the airport, security sources said.

The SLAF officers are to submit a report to Austin Fernando, the defense secretary in the United National Front (UNF) government.

Education officials from the Batticaloa district also participated in a meeting yesterday morning with the SLAF officers at the Valaiyiravu military airport premises, according to security sources. It was decided to convene another meeting with the members of the School Development Society on the 3rd of October, the security sources added.

Although funds were allocated some months ago for the improvement of the buildings and for the construction of new buildings for the schools, the Batticaloa SLAF refused to give permission for work on school buildings to begin.

The School Development Society lodged a complaint with the Defense Department which resulted in the Defense Secretary directing the SLAF to prepare a detailed report on the matter.