Vadamaradchchi Tsunami victims protest against supplying substandard rice

[TamilNet, Friday, 31 December 2004, 18:56 GMT]
A group of Tsunami victims in Vadamaradchchi north division in Jaffna district Friday held a protest in front of the Point Pedro Divisional Secretariat for supplying dry ration which is reported to be unfit for human consumption. Earlier residents of nearby villages supplied these victims with cooked meals, sources said.

Later the civil authorities started issuing dry rations and asked them to cook their meals in their shelters. But victims found rice supplied was not fit for human consumption, sources said.

However the civil authorities did not heed to the complaints. Hence Tsunami victims held a protest in front of the Point Pedro DS office demanding the withdrawal of substandard rice and to issue them with quality rice, sources said.

DS sources said the rice supplied to the victims was handed over to them the Sri Lanka Army stationed in Palaly military base Wednesday on humanitarian grounds.

Meanwhile several victims Friday evening handed a packet of rice said to be unfit for consumption to the Jaffna regional office of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL).