NECORD launches village rehabilitation program

[TamilNet, Friday, 05 December 2003, 00:01 GMT]
The Asian Development Bank funded North East Community Organization for Restoration and Development (NECORD) Project Thursday launched the Village Rehabilitation Programme (VRP) under the Community Development Project (CDP) in eight districts of the North-East, with the signing of two agreements with non-governmental organizations to implement two projects in the Trincomalee district.

Fourteen villages have been selected in the province in the first phase under the CDP, NECORD Deputy Project Director Mr.N.Puhendran said.

The Trincomalee District Government Agent Mr. Gamini Rodrigo on behalf of the NECORD Thursday afternoon signed agreements with Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) and Seva Lanka Foundation (SLF),

NECORD Deputy project Director Mr.Puhendran speaking at the event. Government Agent Mr.Rodrigo (middle) and Deputy Director Mr.Umakanthan are also seen in the picture.

The TRO and SLF will implement two sub projects, one at Kanniya and the other at Vilgam Vihare respectively under the CDP.

NECORD Deputy Project Director Mr.N.Puhendran and Trincomalee district Deputy Project Director Mr.R., Umakanthan participated in the signing event held Thursday at the Trincomalee district secretariat. Mr.V.Kalaivarnan, Project Director of the TRO and Mr. Indralal Jayasinghe, Deputy Programme Manager of the SLF signed the agreements separately on behalf of their organizations.

The sub-project at Kanniya village aims at restoration of seven internal village roads cutting side drain, forming road way with excavated earth with a width of 22 feet and up to a total length of 6550 feet (4.96 acres) and repairs and reconstruction of three dug up wells for the use of resettlers at a total estimated cost Rs 402875 as a trust building measure. The project will be implemented by the TRO in Trincomalee and Socio Economic Development Committee and Village rehabilitation Committee at Kanniya will monitor the implementation. The project will be completed in February next year.

143 families with 603 members were displaced from Kanniya village in 1990 during the military operations. Some of the displaced were forced to seek shelter in welfare centres, or with friends and relatives and other fled to Vanni district and South India, NECORD sources said.

The resettlement of the displaced began with the signing of the ceasefire agreement between the government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Those who returned to their formal habitat found that the unusable village roads had prevented their movement for the normal activity, which had been overgrown with vegetation and shrub jungle. All the open dug wells which were the main source of drinking water in the village before displacement have been damaged and destroyed, NECORD sources said.

The NECORD project has already identified the Kanniya village for the improvement of infrastructure facilities.

The Seva Lanka Foundation has undertaken to construct a collective farm in Vilgam Vihare village. The project will focus on improving the income of the villagers through cultivating vegetables and fruits and the aim of the project is to build trust in this community. Ten families will share the irrigated land to have separate plots. During the first stage an agricultural well will be constructed and in the second stage model drip irrigation system will be introduced. The cost of the project is estimated at four hundred thousand rupees and the project is scheduled to start by January 2004 and completed by September 2004, NECORD sources said.

Mr. Gamini Rodrigo said the projects scheduled to commence in the Trincomalee district could be considered as the pioneer ones in the Northeast province. The successful implementation of the two projects in Trincomalee district would certainly contribute to the success of the scheme in the province.

NECORD district deputy Director R.Umakanthan made the introductory speech.

( L-R) TRO's Projector Officer Mr.Kalaivarnan, NECORD Deputy Project Director Mr.N.Puhendran, Government Agent Mr.Rodrigo, Deputy Director Mr.Umakanthan and Seva Lanka Foundation Deputy Programme Manager Mr.Indralal Jayasinghe.