Attack on Telecommunication Tower in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The telecommunication tower at the Eravur telephone exchange, 12 km north of Batticaloa, was truncated and lines supplying electricity to the area severed, when the the Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) facility was attacked by suscpected members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last night around 12:45 a.m., said Police sources in Batticaloa.

This has crippled around 196 telephone lines in the Eravur area and electricity supplies north of Batticaloa which receive its supply from Habarana, the sources said. However, the equipment in the exchange was not damaged.

Part of the telecommunication tower, which had been attacked by rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), had fallen across the Batticaloa ˆ Valaichenai road, preventing the flow of traffic. The road was cleared for traffic by 9:00 a.m. this morning.

The telecommunication facility had been given security by the police, and three policemen are feared injured in the attack, said the sources.

It is believed that the restoration of telecommunication facilities will take at least a month, with permission for the restoration dependent on clearance from the Ministry of Defence, the sources added.