REPRESENTATIVES of two international aid agencies, World Food Programme (WFP) and USAID with a view to taking assessment of food and other daily requirements among Wanni IDPs and resettled people met Major General Kamal Gunaratne, Commander, Security Forces, Wanni and Competent Authority for IDPs.
   
Messrs David Allen and Francis Abanzi of the WFP in Vavuniya and Miss Andrea Sawka and Mr Richard Peter, representatives for USAID during the meeting with Major General Gunaratne on Friday (5) took up the question of continued food supplies to the Manik Farm IDPs and resettled people, including the fisher-folk. Foreign representatives were requested to continue their supplies to the recipients at least for six months until those resettled people return to their customary livelihoods and emerge self-reliant and self-sufficient.

Major General Gunaratne in his observations pointed out that those affected civilians need time and support to regain normalcy and energy to revert to ordinary life while reviving their sources of income for sustenance. The Manik Farm still with a little over one lakh of IDPs receives food supplies through those international organizations once a week by way of dry rations and essentials.

The discussion was also attended by Brigadier M.A.M. Dias at SFHQ (W).