Security Force Headquarters - Jaffna (SFHQ-J), honouring its pledges earlier given, released 51 more acres of land and 46 houses to their rightful owners on Friday (23) after shifting existing Army establishments into government-owned land elsewhere in the Jaffna peninsula.
The formal ceremony for release of land and houses to the owners took place at Thaladi Roman Catholic Tamil Mixed School, headed by Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe, Commander, SFHQ-J as the Chief Guest and Hon Douglas Devananda (MP), Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises Development as the Guest of Honour.
Official documents, related to 51 acres of land and 7 houses from the areas Uduththurai, Mamunai, Championpattu, Pullopallai and 39 more houses in Santhilippay, Chankanai, Uduvil and Thelippalai were thus handed over to Minister Douglas Devananda symbolically who afterwards delivered them to respective Divisional Secretaries for necessary onward formalities.
Army troops moved to those areas for security reasons in the years 1995 during the Operation ‘Riviresa’ and 2009 as offensives were reaching a climax in the Wanni theatre. Most of these lands and houses are situated in the east of Vadamarachchi and Pachchalaipalai Divisional Secretariat area.
During the ceremony, special gift parcels, containing dry-rations and other essentials, each to the value of Rs 2,000/= were distributed among 75 low-income group families following an initiative, taken by General Officer Commanding, 55 Division.
SFHQ-J in the past three years has been at the forefront of releasing Army-occupied lands and houses to their owners on a staggered basis in accordance with directives given by the Ministry of Defence and the government.
Religious leaders, District Secretary, Divisional Secretaries, 55 and 51 Division General Officers Commanding, community leaders and a large gathering attended the occasion.
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