SLA hands back Amban hospital, library

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 November 2003, 18:33 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army Friday handed back to civil authorities a hospital and public library it had been occupying for more than three years in Amban, a village on Jaffna’s southeastern coast.

A function was held in Amban Friday to mark the occasion. Col. De Silva from the SLA’s Palaly headquarters, represented the army.

The hospital and library are still inside the military’s high security zone encompassing part of the village and most of its environs. A special access path to the place has been provided by the SLA through the HSZ.

Assistant Government Agent for Maruthankerni, Mr. V. Velayuthapillai, the medical officer for the area, Dr. T. Thiruchelvam and the secretary of the Pt. Pedro Pradheshiya Sabha, Mr. C. Nadarajah took part in the function.

The Amban hospital now functions in Kudathanai and is open only three days a week.

“The Amban hospital has to be repaired before it can begin to serve the public in the area”, Dr. Thiruchelvam said.

The SLA, however, did not hand back the Amban Agrarian Service Centre to civil authorities.

The area around the hospital still remains off bound for the people of Amban in that area who were driven out of their homes by the military in 2000.