PM pledges to uplift Northern Province communities

Monday, 30 March 2015 01:14 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday said his Government was committed to uplift the communities in the war-torn Northern Province and would work towards providing basic facilities to the entire province. The Government, he said, would provide electricity and clean drinking water to the people in the entire peninsula and would also focus on health and education to improve their standard of living. On the second day of his three-day tour in the Northern Province, Wickremesinghe who was visiting the Tamil heartland in a bid to strengthen the Government’s efforts to bring about the reconciliation among the communities, met with the people in the north at a meeting held in the Jaffna District Secretariat.

Wickremesinghe pledged to implement a massive program to provide pure drinking water for the people in the entire peninsula. Pure drinking water is the main problem faced by the people in the Jaffna peninsula. He said the Government would restart the industries that were destroyed during the war to provide employment to the people in the area. Accordingly, the cement factory in Kankesanthurai, the saltern at Elephant Pass, Paranthan chemical factory and many other large scale factories would be rebuilt, he emphasised. The Prime Minister said 400 youth well-versed in Tamil would be recruited as Police officers to solve daily law and order problems of the people. In a meeting with principals of the national schools in the Northern Province held at the Jaffna District Secretariat, the PM said the Government was committed to upgrade the education facilities in the north and asked the principals to present long-term plans to solve the problems in the education sector. He assured to provide the funds necessary to fill the existing vacancies for teachers and other minor staff and increase facilities in schools. Required human and physical resources would be provided under the grants from the Treasury, he promised. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was also scheduled to visit the Delft Island and conduct talks with the Army, Navy and Air Force officials and meet the police chiefs in the province as well. On Friday, he participated in a special meeting held with the Jaffna District Parliamentary members and local Government representatives at the Jaffna District Secretariat to review the progress of the Government’s 100-day program implemented in the Northern Province. The PM also launched the second phase of the national nutrition program for pregnant mothers from Jaffna, handing over nutrition packs to the eligible recipients. The Prime Minister attended several meetings in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu on Sunday as well.