Vanni IDPs struggle with inadequate humanitarian supplies

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 17:45 GMT]
Humanitarian supplies that reached Vanni in the first week of October were only adequate to cover rice for 7 days, dhal for 5 days, flour for 4 days and per registered IDP families, according to the Government Agent of Ki'linochchi, N. Vethanayakam, who collected reports from the workers engaged in coordinating the supplies at Ka'ndaava'lai Divisional Secretariat in Ki'linochchi district on Thursday. In the meantime, the supplies expected this week didn't reach Vanni on Friday amid reports of heavy shelling blocking the A9 road.

One of the two access routes to Mullaiththeevu, the strip of A9 from Pu'liyangku'lam to Maangku'lam, has been targeted by artillery fire from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) while the security of the other route which runs from Pu'liyangku'lam via Nedungkea'ni has been compromised for a long time following Claymore attacks from the SLA Deep Penetration Unit (DPU).

There were long queues at all Multi Purpose Corporative Societies (MPCS) outlets in Vanni this week.

Each IDP family is given only half a litre of coconut oil in their ration in addition to rice for 7 days, dhal for 5 days and flour for 4 days. Sugar has not been supplied for 3 months. There were lorries with sugar in the last convoy of humanitarian supplies, but they were among 9 of 60 lorries which were not allowed to cross into Vanni after a controversial 'discovery' of explosive in one of the vehicles. It was believed to be a sabotage to block humanitarian supplies, local humanitarian workers at Ka'ndaava'lai division said.

An acute shortage of fuel prevails in the region and only kerosene oil is available but in very restricted quantity.

More than 52,000 persons were new IDPs among more than 100,000 people currently living in Ka'ndaava'lai divsion alone. With densely populated civilians, Ka'ndaava'lai and Tharmapuram have become the new centres for IDPs, replacing the facilities at Ki'linochchi town.

Ki'linochchi GA met humanitarian officials and staff representing the cooperative societies, which supply rations to the IDPs, Thursday afternoon 2:00 p.m. to assess the rapidly unfolding humanitarian crisis and discuss ways and means of taking suitable preventive measures to tackle the situation.

Though 51 lorries of food supplies were brought into Vanni in the beginning of October, the amount of provisions were woefully inadequate to barely meet one-week's requirements for the thousands of IDPs who were flooding into the region, the officials reported to the GA.

Most of the civilians from the west of A9, except some settlements in Poonakari division and Paranthan, have displaced to east of A9 road in the two districts of Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu. Civilians are still residing in their houses in some of the suburbs of Ki'linochchi town such as Uruththirapuram. Paranthan - Puthukkudiyiruppu Road has become a traffic intensive route with an average of five to seven road accidents per day, according to Tamileelam Police officials.

Meanwhile, health officials in Vanni say that the rapidly rising number of IDPs is bound to create widespread malnutrition unless immediate counter measures are taken to address the situation.

The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is yet to allow three lorries with medical supplies, still waiting in Vavuniyaa, according to health officials.