Batticaloa District formally declared landmine-free

The Batticaloa District of the Eastern Province has been formally declared ‘mine-free’ eight years after the three-decade-long war ended in the North and East.

The formal declaration to mark ‘The First Mine-Affected District of Sri Lanka Reaching a Level of Residual Risk’ was signed and handed over by stakeholders during a ceremony held at the Batticaloa District Secretariat premises on 21 June, Army media revealed.

Accordingly, the Sri Lanka Army-Humanitarian De-mining Unit (SLA-HDU), together with other International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), had successfully cleared minefields in the Batticaloa District.

SLA-HDU had cleared 312,111,499 m2 from 377,026,951 m2 of mine-affected area which accounts for 83% from the Confirmed Hazardous Area (CHA). The other 17% was cleared by the INGOs and NGOs stakeholders, who joined the demining drive in 2009 for the ‘District by District’ program in Batticaloa. SLA-HDU comprises 450 Army de-miners and conducts their operations according to the internationally-accepted methods of Manual, Mechanical and Mine Detection Dog (MDD).

Minister of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs D.M. Swaminathan, State Minister of Rehabilitation and Resettlement M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Atul Keshap, British High Commissioner for Sri Lanka and the Maldives James Dauris, diplomatic envoys from Canada, Japan and Australia, Chief Minister for the Eastern Province, Ministry Secretaries, District Secretary for Batticaloa and representatives of INGOs and NGOs, army officers and invitees were present at the occasion.

With the end of the conflict in 2009, army de-miners initiated the de-mining process in previous LTTE-dominated areas as the only stakeholder. However, Army de-miners have been involved in clearing minefields in the country since 2002.