IDP pregnant mothers stranded in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 October 2009, 04:02 GMT]
124 internally displaced families including several pregnant mothers who were allowed to leave Menik Farm in Vavuniyaa to go to their places in Jaffna on September 29 are stranded in Vavuniyaa town without Sri Lanka Army (SLA) clearance to proceed to Jaffna. These IDPs were brought down from Menik Farm on September 29 and dropped at Vavuniyaa bus stand the same day midnight, sources in Vavuniyaa said.

As their attempt to get clearance for their travel to Jaffna from Vavuniyaa district secretariat failed, they were asked to stay in the wedding hall of the Vavuniyaa Sivan Kovil till Sunday and the temple authorities also allowed them to stay.

Vavuniyaa district secretariat failed to provide funds to the temple authority to maintain these IDPs during their stay as promised.

However, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has offered to pay their travelling expenses to Jaffna.

They were then taken from Sivan Koayil wedding hall Sunday morning to the army camp to get passes to travel to Jaffna.

But the army officer in charge of transport refused permission for them to board the buses stating that they were not in possession of proper clearance for their travel.

Hence these IDPs returned to Sivan Koayil and are now staying there in a depressed state.

Meanwhile, another batch of 75 IDP families including pregnant mothers was allowed to return home from Menik Farm camp Saturday. They were first given shelter in Vavuniyaa Town Hall and later shifted to Sivan Koayil where they are awaiting clearance to go to their homes.