SLA forced to engage soldiers in civil work in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 November 2010, 17:18 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) authorities in Jaffna are forced to engage soldiers in civil work to stop them from deserting the army and because they are unable to allocate military duties for the thousands of soldiers in the North, sources in Jaffna said. Hundreds of soldiers have been deployed in renovation and cleaning work while some of them are employed in food stalls and hair dressing saloons. The soldiers, particularly those in Vanni, due to malaria and forced to be in deserted places are reluctant to serve there, a SLA officer said. Many of them have failed to return after vacation, he added. Most of the soldiers suffer from fatigue and a sense of frustration, sources in Jaffna said.

The soldiers are expected to work in cooperation with SLA civil administrative officials.

The SLA soldiers are sent to work in the construction of houses for the resettled people in Jaffna and the SLA authorities in Jaffna are planning to employ them as labourers in the construction of school buildings in Jaffna.

Many soldiers have been deployed in the construction of 12,000 houses for SLA personnel in Thirumu’ruka’ndi area, the SLA officer said.

The positive side of engaging soldiers in civil work is that it will help them to learn skills which could be of great use to them when they return to their own places, observers in Jaffna said.