News in Brief:
[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 December 1998, 18:32 GMT]
A house was damaged in shelling from the Elephant Pass SLA base. VoT announces LTTE losses. Sri Lanka meteorological sources say there has been heavy rainfall through out the island, and 300 houses built under the resettlement programme were handed over to residents.
Shelling damages civilian homeThe home of a Jaffna citizen, Shanmugam Ponniah, was damaged when the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) stationed at Elephant pass fired artillery shells towards the Pooneryn area yesterday.
Cattle were also killed in the artillery fire which took place at 1.30 am on Monday.
The shelling continued throughout the night, said sources in the area.
VoT announces LTTE lossesFour members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been killed in the Northeast since December 26, said the Voice of Tigers (VoT).
On December 26, two members of the LTTE were killed in an unexpected clash with the Sri Lankan security forces at Akkaraipattru in the Amparai district. Their names were given as:- Lt.Kalatheepan ( Thiyagarajah Jeganeethan of Amparai) and Manamagan (Rasadurai Thomas of Amparai)
In another clash with the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) at Kerathivu on December 27, 2nd Lt.Vanchiyan (Periyathamby Thiyagarajan of Kilinochchi) was killed.
Muhilan (Sinnathurai Sivanandarajah of Batticaloa) was killed in a clash with the SLA on December 28, the VoT said.
Heavy overnight rain throughoutHeavy overnight rain has been reported throughout Sri Lanka, said meteorological sources. A record 119.5 mm. of rain fell in Vavuniya, the sources added.
Officials in Vavuniya said that heavy rain has been pouring down throughout the whole day raising water levels in most of the major irrigation tanks in the district.
Some of the reservoirs had started spilling over through the evening, the sources added.
A downfall of 64.5 mm was recorded in Galle, while 40.0 mm was recorded in Mannar, 38.8 mm in Colombo and 34.8 mm. in Batticaloa.
New housing in the VanniThree hundred and fifty two houses were ceremonially opened and handed over to the new residents in villages in the Vavuniya district today.
The houses were constructed under the government's rehabilitation scheme with the participation of the resettled families.
National Housing Development Authority officials provided technical assistance in the construction of these houses, said K.Ganesh, Government Agent Vavuniya.
The opening ceremony took place in spite of the heavy rains with the attendance of the Co-ordinating Secretary to the Deputy Minister of Housing, officials of the Housing Development Authority and the Local Heads of Departments in the district.
These new houses have been constructed in Sooduventhapilavu, Arabaa Nagar in Pulitharithapuliyankulam, Checkadipilavu and Mathvuvaithakulam villages in the army controlled areas of Vavuniya.