3^rd assignment,

 

Batticaloa makes headway

The country celebrated the first anniversary of the end of the conflict and the Batticaloa city is regaining its lost glory. All highways leading to Batticaloa are being renovated. Work on the Polonnaruwa-Batticaloa Road is almost completed and it takes a little more than an hour to travel between the two towns.

The Chenkaladi-Badulla A-5 Road and most of the by-roads too are under construction. Construction work on a new bridge at Kalladi is under way. In the city limit multi-storeyed houses and commercial buildings with glass and aluminum fittings are being constructed seen.

Though the main towns’ suburbs and villages on the main roads are being developed under peaceful atmosphere, the situation in the villages is not so rosy. The Eastern Province was liberated in July 2007 and even after three years development has not reached many rural areas in the province. Unnachchiya, a village 26 kilometres away from the Batticaloa town in Wawnathive DS division is one such village where people still face hardships.

Living conditions

The living condition of people is hard as they lack even the basic facilities. Steps need to be taken for these people to be brought on par with the rest of the country. Roads are in a dilapidated state. Thousands of bony stray cattle look for grass in dried paddy fields. Abandoned paddy fields and fertile lands, livestock and fish are the treasures in this area that have to be converted into productive economic activities. 

Threats

The frequent entry of wild elephants into the village is another threat to the lives of the people as well as their agriculture. The village does not have electricity. The high tension electricity line up to the village supplies electricity to the pump house of the tank and the STF camp. We face an acute shortage of drinking water and have to trek a long distance to fetch water. People in the Wawnathive village face serious difficulties but water from our tank is pumped to the Batticaloa town, he said.

The rural hospital has not been opened yet because there are no doctors, nurses or other staff. Only maternity clinics are held weekly at the hospital building. The education of the children is obstructed due to lack of teachers. People said that the teachers are coming to school around 9.30 am by the only bus that reaches the village from Batticaloa. They leave the school by 12.30 pm in the same bus.

Law and Order

Addressing the gathering the OIC of the Camp Inspector, Rathnamallale said that the people in the village had income sources before and after the conflict. They went hunting, cut timber from the forest and cultivated cannabis. After we liberated the area we established Law and Order and stopped all illegal activities. However, we have failed to provide alternative income sources for them and as a result they face great difficulties today.

Sri Mohan (32) out lined the hardships in starting economic activities in the village. Cultivation is impossible due to wild elephants' invasion. I want to start a poultry farm, but there is no electricity. Producers do not get a fair price for their products due to poor transport facilities. We sell milk at Rs. 25 a liter. Village fish production is purchased by a single trader who comes from the Batticaloa town and we get a very low price, he said.

Infrastructure

A government servant said that the situation in many rural areas such as Karaweddi, Wellawali, Mandoor, Mankandu, Pullumalai, Roogam and Kokadicholai are the same. Health and education services in these areas have deteriorated. There is a shortage of doctors and essential drugs even in the Batticaloa Hospital.

The Government has done many things to the province mainly in the restoring infrastructure. Most of the issues that directly affect the lives of the people in the area come under the Provincial Council (PC).

Education and Health are devolved subjects and the PC can solve these issues or bring them to the attention of the Central Government. Bureaucracy is another issue.

There is no co-ordination among the government agencies. For instance teachers of the Unnachiya School can work full day if the CTB reschedules its operations or provides another bus to the village, he said.

01.  How much time it will take to reach Polonnaruwa from Batticaloa, by completing the new Polonnaruwa-Batticaloa highway?

It will take more then about an hour to reach Polonnaruwa from Batticaloa

02.  What are the treasures of rural areas around Batticaloa?

                Abandoned paddy fields and fertile lands, livestock and fish are the   

                treasures of rural areas around Batticaloa.

03.  What are the threats, the people who are living in the rural villages around the 

Batticaloa faced?

1. Entry of wild elephants in to the villages is a big problem to lives of people and

   Also it directly effect with agriculture.

2. Lack of electricity is another problem.

3. And also drinking water problem is another big problem for them.

    Villagers face serious difficulties for having drinking water.

     Those are the main threats, people faced.

04.  What were the illegal income sources the villagers had before liberated the area?

Cutting timber from the forests, cultivating cannabis and going hunter were the illegal income resources people had before liberated the area.

05.  What had happened to the education sector and health care sector in this area?

Schools and Hospitals do not have recourses to provide even a lower level of service for people. Both sectors do not have enough staff to provide some service. And also lack of transport facility is affected indirectly for both sectors.