A9 rebuilding to begin on Thai-Pongal day

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 January 2003, 14:11 GMT]
Although Asian Development Bank (ADB) has allocated Rs800 million towards rebuilding the A9 highway from Omanthai to Jaffna, no funds have been made available to clear mines that still lay buried in areas surrounding several segements of A9 which present a potential danger to residents who would want to resettle, a news report from Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in Kilinochi highlighted.

TRO report further said that rebuilding of the 100km long Muhamalai to Puliyankulam segment of the A9 is to ceremonially begin on the 14 January, the auspicious Thai-Pongal day.

Unexploded Kfir ordnance along the A9 in Elephant pass

Thousands of claymore mines, unexploded ordnances released from Kfir jets, artillery/mortar shells, tank ammunition and hand grenades were removed from areas in Muhamalai, Pallai, Iyakachchi, Elephant Pass, Mankulam, Kanakarayankulam and Puliyankulam by TRO-organized mine clearing division in the last few years, sources said.

Sources said in the last four days alone twelve cattle were either killed or severely wounded by exploding mines in the Elephant Pass and Uppalam area where the land is not yet safe for resettlement. TRO is also engaged in removing the wounded cattle from the danger areas and hand them over to their owners.