‘Development’ gives no light to people while SL cantonment gets electricity in Vanni

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 April 2012, 21:41 GMT]
More than 30 months have elapsed since the Sri Lankan government was promising electricity link to the resettling people in Ki'linochchi under the so-called Spring of North ‘development’, which is nothing but a camouflage for the structural genocide committed by Colombo in the country of Eezham Tamils. Electricity posts were put up creating hope among the people that power would be supplied. Many trees were also felled in Vanni jungle in the name of putting up infrastructure. Renewed hopes were again given during the civic elections held a year ago by SL Power and Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka, the theoretician of the JHU, the Sinhala Buddhist extremist monks party, who declared opened a transformer at Chalvaa-nakar, a suburb of Ki'linochchi. The suburb is yet to see the light promised by the ‘Spring of North’, while the power lines are directed only to illuminate an SL cantonment.

Even localities, just 500 meters away from the centre of Ki'linochchi town are yet to receive power.

When confronted by questions from the resettled families, Colombo's colonial representatives who attended the last ‘development committee meeting’ of Ka'ndaava'lai division, again promised to provide electricity along the road from Paranthan to Puthukkudiyiruppu before the end of April 2012. But, the work is yet to commence at Paranthan.

In the meantime, one month ago, new announcements were made in the papers saying that electricity supply would be provided from Mu'rika'ndi, which is situated on A9 between Maangku'lam and Ki'linochchi town to Muzhangkaavil in Poonakari divsion through Akkaraayan, Vannearik-ku'lam and Jeyapuaram. Posts were put up and the electricity board attached wires.

But, to the dismay of the resettled people, the work stopped at Aanaivizhunthaan in the Karaichchi division. A Sri Lankan cantonment is situated at Aanaivizhunthaan. Adjoining the cantonment, a large number of Chinese provided huts have been set up in a no-go zone, allegedly for a Sinhala settlement.

The occupying SL Army at Aanaivizhunthaan has become notorious for assaulting the Rural Development Society president and the civil officials in the area. Even the electricity board workers were not spared. When a tree felled by the workers had hit a military post by accident, the workers were severely beaten by the SL soldiers, civil sources said.

The sources further said that the resettled civilians have been repeatedly complaining at the Electricity Board office in Ki'linochchi town that they were not provided with the electricity link as promised. The electricity board officials instruct the people to approach the office of ‘Spring of North’ programme situated in Vavuniyaa.

The electricity board has also lost many of the application forms it had received from the resettled people, civil sources further say.

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