Slow progress in supplying electricity to Omanthai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 July 2003, 03:03 GMT]
Work is currently underway to supply electricity to the Omanthai Sri Lanka Army checkpoint complex, but so far only 20 % of the project has been completed, said Mr. S. Pirabhakaran, Engineer, Vavuniya Region, the Ceylon Electricity Board.

Electrical power lines are currently being constructed along the A-9 highway to provide electricity from Vavuniya to the Vilakuvaithakulam area in the SLA controlled area.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pirabhakaran said that electricity would be supplied up to Puliyankulam in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled area, but work on that could begin only after the no-man zone between the SLA and LTTE checkpoints along A-9 was cleared of mines.

Since there has been no directive from the Defence Ministry of Sri Lanka as to when the demining will start and who will do it, there has been no firm plans made for laying of power lines beyond the Omanthai SLA checkpoint, said the CEB Engineer.

The Vavuniya Government Agent, Mr. K. Ganesh, said that talks on demining the area are continuing between the LTTE and the SLA, through the facilitation of the Red Cross.

The CEB Engineer said that the Eurpoean Union has allocated Rs. 22 million for supplying electricity from Vavuniya to Puliyankulam. However, he said that funds have not been allocated to supply electricity to the Muhamalai checkpoint complex of the SLA, and no work on that is underway.