UN special envoy praises facilities at welfare villages in Vavuniya

Rasika Somarathna

The Government sponsored infrastructure facilities and vocational training centres inside welfare villages in Vavuniya, has come in for high praise by visiting UN special envoy on Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Prof. Walter Kaelin.

Specially, training facilities to equip IDPs for future employment, has impressed Prof. Kaelin, who visited Vavuniya on Saturday to personally witness relief and resettlement measures for IDPs from the north, sources said.

In a meeting with relevant authorities in Vavuniya on Saturday Prof. Kaelin had expressed his satisfaction over present efforts and also had made several constructive recommendations, a spokesman for the Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services said. During the meeting Prof. Kaelin had been briefed on the ongoing efforts and about ones in the pipeline, by Minister Risath Bathyudeen and other relevant officials, sources added.

Prof. Walter Kaelin had visited the Kadirgamar welfare village, Arunachalam welfare village and other centres near Omanthai.

Meanwhile, authorities said yesterday that the number of displaced who had sought refuge in uncleared areas had risen to over 65,000.