TNA condemns SL Ministers' attempt to mislead Batticaloa voters

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 March 2008, 00:15 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a media communiqué released Saturday condemned the action of the cabinet ministers of Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) attempting to mislead civilians in Batticaloa for their own political gain by falsely claiming the Japan initiated scheme of reconstructing Kallady bridge as “Dawn of the East," whereas the project is part of the ongoing effort Japan's effort to rebuild bridges after tsunami.

The extracts of the communiqué released by the TNA parliamentarians of Batticaloa district follows:

“We wish to remind the general public that 600 million rupees was already allocated by Japan to reconstruct Kallady Bridge under the Tsunami development scheme.

“The Government of Japan had already donated funds to reconstruct Koaddaikkallaa’ru, Periyakallaa’ru, Oaddamaavadi, and Kallady bridges in Batticaloa district affected by Dec 26, 2004 Tsunami. Many bridges in various parts of the country have already been reconstructed with aid provided by Japan.

“Under this scheme Koaddaikkallaa’ru and Periyakallaa’ru have already been rebuilt and opened without any fanfare.

“Though the Bank of Japan for International Relationship came forward in 2005 and 2006 to begin the construction of Kalladi Bridge, the GoSL dragged its feet and failed to take any interest.

“However, commencing the construction of Kalladi Bridge after a long delay under the guise of “Dawn of the East” is a plot by GOSL to achieve political gains during the forthcoming local council elections by attempting to fool the general public in Batticaloa district. The people in Batticaloa should not forget that this attempt by GOSL to win seats in Batticaloa Municipal Council.

“The people should be aware of the activities of some ministers attempting to gain political benefits by falsely claiming the construction of school buildings, houses and public buildings undertaken by international humanitarian agencies as part of the “Dawn of East” project, the communiqué concluded.