Acute shortage of essential food items in Jaffna
[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 May 2009, 14:38 GMT]
Residents of Jaffna peninsula are experiencing an acute shortage of essential food commodities including wheat flour and sugar, sources in Jaffna said. Jaffna Government Agent (GA), in a press release Tuesday night, said that arrangements are being made to get down wheat flour from Trincomalee and sugar from Colombo.
The multi-purpose Co-operative societies, which receive the essential food commodities through the GA from the Commissioner of Essential Food items, have to pay back arrears of around 117 million rupees to Jaffna Secretariat and this has caused the shortage, the GA said. Meanwhile, Jaffna Multi-purpose Co-operative society alone has to pay 70 million rupees due to alleged misappropriation by P. Kiritharan, the Advisor to Jaffna Municipal Council, appointed by Janaka Perara, Commissioner of Local Councils, civil society sources in Jaffna said. Kiritharan is said to be the SLFP, EPDP coalition candidate for Jaffna Municipal Council election which is expected to take place soon, the sources added. Since August 2000 essential food commodities to the value of 721 million rupees have been supplied to the co-operatives societies and 117 million rupees of this amount remains as arrears of payment, the sources added.
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