Lanka resettles over 1,000 displaced Tamils in north

The government on Tuesday resettled 1,161 displaced Tamils -- 1093 persons (319 families) in Kondaweli DS Division and 68 persons (17 families) in Manthei-- in Kilinochchi District.

Arrangements are also being made to resettle around 800 IDPs in Nedunkeni North and West today, officials said.

They said the Government was paying a great deal of attention to resettle all displaced persons.The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has, meanwhile, appealed for funds to the tune of  23 million dollars l to assist the resettlement in the North.

The funding for the FAO emergency response plan aims to promote self-sufficiency and prevent further dependency on food aid for some 50,000 rural families returning to the northeast of Sri Lanka, a statement said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said he cannot give a time period for the completion of houses for the displaced in the North."How can I give a time frame? I am not a carpenter or a mason to answer that. Neither am I a civil engineer," the Prime Minister told the Daily Mirror newspaper in reply to a question.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health Care and Nutrition said the healthcare requirements of the displaced persons in the Northern Province will continue to be addressed.