Attend to IDPs' woes to resolve water crisis, TNA tells GoSL

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 July 2006, 15:14 GMT]
The water crisis erupted over the closure of the Mavilaru sluice gate could be solved only by attending the urgent basic needs of several thousand internally displaced Tamil villagers from LTTE held Muttur east and now sheltered in LTTE held Eachchilampathu and Verugal division and not by aerial bombing and by artillery fire, said Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham, Trincomalee district parliamentarian in a statement released Friday evening.

State armed forces have been conducting indiscriminate aerial attacks and artillery fire on villages in LTTE held Eachilampathu and Verugal in the Trincomalee district and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) has accused the LTTE as responsible for closing the Mavilaru sluice gate rendering about 30 thousand acres of paddy crops without irrigation in the government controlled territory.

GOSL's argument for its military action is one sided, the statement said.

The villagers of the Eachchilampathu and Vaharai division have stopped the supply of water through the Mavilaru sluice gate which is located in the LTTE controlled as a last resort to highlight the discrimination shown by the government authorities in providing relief assistance to about 25 thousand IDPs to the international community, the statement added.

If the government wants the Mavilaru water crisis to be solved it should first lift the embargo imposed on villagers in the LTTE held areas to transport fuel, building materials, essential food stuff and also should ensure safe passage from the LTTE held areas to and from government controlled territory without intimidation and death threat, said the statement.

The government should also provide dry ration relief to the IDP families sheltered in welfare centres and public buildings in Eachchilampathu and Vaharai division, said Mr.Thurairatnasingham in his statement.