22nd August 2016 12:54:47 Hours
A unique tripartite combination of Army troops, ex-LTTE combatants and beneficiaries under the direct supervision of the Security Force Headquarters - Jaffna (SFHQ-J) are toiling day and night to erect new houses in Keeramalai area to resettle 971 displaced families, still languishing in 31 welfare relief centres across the Jaffna peninsula.
The mega Keeramalai Housing Project, executed under a Joint Project Management Team (JPMT) during the Phase I is to have 100 new houses, built initially before the monsoon rainy season commences in October, following the commitment of the SFHQ-J, commanded by Major General Mahesh Senanayake with the blessings of the President Maithripala Sirisena, Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi, Secretary to Ministry of Defence and the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Crishanthe De Silva.
The implementation of the project under five housing phases in a selected 47-acre extent of land in Keeramalai has been made possible with state funds, made available by the Ministry of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs through the office of the District Secretary for Jaffna, subsequent to respective coordinating initiatives, taken by the Ministry of Defence and the Army.
As of today (19), nearly 50 percent of construction work in each housing unit, worth approximately Rs 9 lakhs, has been completed as a result of the day and night commitment of separate construction teams which consist of 10 Army personnel, 1 selected beneficiary and an ex-LTTE combatant who is paid Rs 1,000/= per day by the Ministry of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs for his labour.
This state-of-the art civil-military joint effort, a mirror that reflects healthy and interactive cordial relations as well as the fast growing sentiments of reconciliation in the peninsula, offers each beneficiary a new house of 20 perch block, comprised of two bed rooms, a living room, dining area, kitchen, toilet and the bathroom, covering a 540 square feet in land extent. The complex also houses a community centre, playground, nursery, fish market, Police post and other necessary facilities once completed and Ceylon Electricity Board and Water Board have already begun laying required infrastructure facilities.
The clearing of the site for the Keeramalai Housing Complex began in earnest on 26 June 2016 by the troops of the 10 Field Engineer Regiment as surveying and blocking out got underway simultaneously with the support of civil sector experts. General Officer Commanding, 51 Division of the SFHQ-J acts as the Project Director with a 12-member construction team as specified above.
After the inaugural cornerstone-laying kicked off on 11 July 2016, to be in compliance with the government’s reconciliation and co-existence efforts, a decision was taken to resettle those landless people in close proximity to the Palaly Army Cantonment in Keeramalai like in other areas of the country. Considering socio-cultural aspects of those recipients, District Secretary for Jaffna selected the beneficiaries of the project in consultation with respective Grama Seva officials.
Providing expertise and skilled labour, those Army troops of the 5 Corps of Engineer Service Regiment are engaged in providing technical support and professional expertise assistance throughout the project. General Officers Commanding, 51, 52 and 55 Division have offered their full support to the ongoing project.
The next phase for resettlement of IDPs in selected areas providing new houses would commence before the end of the year.
A couple of days ago, a high-level Defence Ministry delegation, headed by Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi, Secretary Defence, Ms Wasantha Perera, Additional Secretary to Ministry of Defence, Army, Navy and Air Force Commanders, a team of officials of the Ministry of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs was in Jaffna to supervise the ongoing project at Keeramalai. Similarly, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, now the Chairperson of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation made a separate tour to the north and visited the Keeramalai Housing Project.
