Jaffna IDP families struggle to survive without relief

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 28 July 2004, 00:11 GMT]
Civil groups in Jaffna are concerned about the plight of thousands of internally displaced families in the Jaffna whose dry ration relief supply has been suspended by the Sri Lanka Government from February this year. Most of the families depended fully on the relief, according to the civil groups.

About 119 thousand IDP families who are unable to return to their houses located in the high security zones, and to areas where civil authorities have not declared mine free are residing with their relatives and welfare centres. Majority of them are living on the relief supplies as they have lost their job opportunities, sources said.

The current Sri Lanka government, which came to power in the April 2nd poll, announced that the number of IDP families receiving the dole would be reduced to one third. However, widespread protests forced the government to abandon its plans officially, but the relief has not reached the IDPs for the past five months, sources said.

Jaffna district secretariat sources said that the Government Agent has not received any intimation from the Colombo authorities regarding the distribution of dry ration to these IDP families and that they are waiting for the instruction from the central government.