20 thousand homes shattered, relief tardy

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 January 2001, 18:55 GMT]
Over 20 thousand houses were damaged or destroyed in Trincomalee by the cyclone that ravaged the eastern district on 26 December, officials said. About forty fishing boats were destroyed or are reported missing, according to officials at the Trincomalee District Secretariat.

Boat owners, according to the officials, would be compensated only if they produce a Police report certifying the loss -a task well nigh impossible for Tamil fishermen living in cyclone hit areas south of Trincomalee controlled by the Liberation Tigers.

Although the Social Services Ministry allocated 35 million rupees on paper for relief work in the cyclone ravages areas and has instructed local officials to pay 20 thousand rupees or less to each damaged or destroyed house, only 15 million rupees have been sent so far to the District Secretariat, according to the Government Agent Mr.S.D. Chandradasa.

The largest number of houses, more than 4000, were damaged in the Trincomalee division.

The number of houses damaged and destroyed in the other divisions of the Trincomalee district are as follows:

Muttur- 400, Eechilampathai-2269, Kuchchaveli-1619, Morawewa-1292, Gomarankadawela-1786,Kantale-3998, Seruvila-384, Kinniya-1400, Thampalakamam- 1502, Padavi-Siripura-426.