Army will help rebuilding - Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa, MP

Like our Army saved the Tamil people from terrorism they will also rebuild their settlements with irrigation tanks , irrigation ducts and roads to a better standard than they ever existed before said Uthuru Vasanthaya Project Chairman and Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa, MP at a ceremony handing over 101 heavy construction equipment to the Army to rebuild the Northern Province infrastructure easing the rapid development and resettlement of IDP's in welfare centres.

The equipment imported from the People's Republic of China under the sponsorship of the Ambassador for the People's Republic of China Yang Xiuping also marked the 60th anniversary of China. The Galle Face Green where the ceremony was held was decked with the yellow star spangled red flags of China. Read more ...

Sri Lanka to step up mine clearing: army

Sri Lanka's military is to send more troops to clear land mines in areas recently wrested from Tamil rebel control so that civilians can return to their homes, the top army officer said Thursday.

"I have already sent 400 engineering troops for de-mining and I am sending more battalions to be trained in 'humanitarian de-mining'," Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya told reporters after a ceremony at the Armoured Corp headquarters in Colombo.

The army chief, who took over the 200,000-strong forces in July, said he also planned to deploy heavy equipment to clear vast mine-fields in the Wanni region where the final battles with the Tamil Tigers were fought.

Jayasuriya said the military did not have a precise estimate for the number of mines planted by the defeated Tamil Tiger guerrillas, but ground troops had encountered extensive mine fields during the final battles.

"We have four international non-governmental organisations helping us now and I want to use mechanised mine clearing to speed up the process," he said adding that the process was key to re-settling war displaced civilians. Read more ...

Nearly 176,000 mines removed

Nearly 176,000 anti-personnel mines buried by the LTTE had so far been detected and removed between 2002 and March 31, 2009, Senior Advisor to the Nation Building Ministry M. S. Jayasinghe said.

Several international groups along with the Sri Lanka Army were engaged in the demining but most of the mines were removed by the Sri Lanka Army, he said. Read more ...

Fuel distribution centre opened in Paranthan

A filling station was opened yesterday (07 May) at the Paranthan Junction to facilitate fuel distribution in the Wanni and the North.

The centre was opened after renovating it on the instructions given by the Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka. It was opened under the patronage of Director of Planning and Transport Brigadier Ashoka Padeniya and 58 Division Commander Brigadier Shavendra Silva.

The filling station was under LTTE control for many years and LTTE terrorists had completely destroyed it before fleeing due to the effective offensive launched by the armed forces to capture the Paranthan junction. More ...