CHA SITUATION REPORT EASTERN PROVINCE (Galle, Matara, Hambantota, and Badulla) July 2006 General Situation HAMBANTOTA The annual Esala festival of Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Dewalaya commenced on the 26th of July. The highlight of the festival, the Randoli Perahera will be held on the 09th of August. Esala festival will come to a climax with the water cutting ceremony of the Menik Ganga on the 10th of August. The Esela Perahera will include a number of elephants, up–country and low– country dances, and other cultural items. The water supply scheme of Siribopura, Hambantota, jointly funded by the Governments of Sri Lanka and Denmark, will be inaugurated. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board handled the construction. The Minister of Agriculture Development handed over one hundred boats at a cost of Rs. 60 million to tsunami affected fishermen of Tangalle and Hambantota recently. This was a donation from the Government of Kuwait. The Agunukolapalassa Hospital received medical equipment for the Emergency Treatment Unit. Though building facilities are available the hospital is hampered with the lack of nursing staff. The CMO has pointed out that four nurses are required to open the unit. MATARA There is a certain amount of disturbance in the district with regard to the security situation. There have been false bomb threats to schools. Thirty–nine Tamil youth was arrested in Akuressa and its suburbs during the past few weeks. However, the daily activities of Matara continue without a hitch. In the tea plantation areas in the suburbs of Matara, the atmosphere seems turbulent, as the area is multi–ethnic. There are still a number of transitional shelters in tsunami affected areas and people there face water and sanitation problems. A large number of shelters can be demolished, but the Government is unable to do it because new families have occupied the shelters without the Government’s knowledge. According to Government data, 60% of the permanent housing programme has been completed, but only few houses have been occupied. There are some confusions relating to the beneficiary lists, as the Government has decreased the buffer zone. Therefore, Divisional Secretaries have not been able to finalise their lists and has created problems for donor agencies. GALLE A bomb threats to leading schools in Galle created panic amongst parents and the community in the Galle town. Parents were refrained from sending their children to school as a result of the threatening telephone call. The situation returned to normal after a few days. Special security systems have been introduced to schools following potential terror threats to schools. At the beginning of the month, there was a rumour of a bomb in Galle, which cerated panic amongst the people. Security Issues BADULLA The Police raided several areas in the district, particularly the estates, during the beginning of the month. A few people were arrested upon suspicion and was released later. The Plice arrested a Tamil lady at the Badulla General Hospital. She had been carrying out suspicious activities on the hospital premises. Addiction to Illegal Liquor Some NGOs and CBOs have informed that most people in the estates and villages are addicted to illegal liquor (kasippu). They pointed out that this is rather unfortunate and leads to a lot of problems in the areas. It is clear that this is one of the reasons for the poverty prevailing in these areas. This habit poses a great hindrance to the education of the children of those parents addicted to the liquor. The organisations revealed that the problem has worsened as authorities have failed to take proper action to eradicate this habit. HAMBANTOTA All schools that come under the purview of fourteen police divisions will be provided with adequate security in order to protect children from subversive activities. The SP of Tangalle has already raised awareness amongst Principals of respective schools through OICs in all police stations. The Army and Police are checking the people coming into Kataragama, at Yala and Warahana. They have kept a record of people moving in and out of Yala, Walimata and Kochchipatha. They have also setup checkpoints in the areas. MATARA The Akuressa Police arrested thirty–nine Tamil men from a private residence in Akuressa. They were handed over to the Terrorist Investigations Unit for further investigations. They had told the Police that they had come to proceed to Italy. A few suspects were taken into custody from the plantation areas in Deniyaya, as they were not able to prove their reasons for being there. Further investigations are underway. A man and a woman was taken into custody for the assassination of the Late President of the Southern Development Authority. Investigations continue and the case will be called again this month, to Matara Magistrate courts. Due to mechanical failure, a Korean ship was anchored at the coastal area of Dikwella. It created a severe disturbance amongst the people as they were under the impression that the ship was owned by the LTTE. Navy officials had checked the ship and verified. The Matara Police arrested a woman at the Matara bus stand due to her suspicious behaviour. She was unable to provide proper identification. Therefore, a warrant will be obtained from the magistrate to detain in order to continue investigations. On the 11th of July, gunfire was reported from Dondra. The Police of Gandara are continuing investigations and two suspects were taken into custody. The Weligama Police arrested a man with a hand grenade in his possession. The Police informed that the suspect was a resident of Henwala, Weligama. The Weligama Police will continue investigations. Sustainable Needs Livelihood HAMBANTOTA CHA and DRDU are organising a Livelihood Needs Assessment Survey in four affected Divisions in Hambantota, as a pilot survey. Housing MATARA Housing programmes have started according to Divisional Secretariats for families who receive public aid. The programme falls under the Southern Provincial Ministry of Rural Development. Thirteen new houses, in the Kadawedduwa GS Division, were handed over to beneficiaries. Rhino Roofing Products Limited built fifty houses in Kapagamagedara, Devinuwara Divisional Secretariat. The houses were recently handed over to families affected by the tsunami. The housing units were built in accordance with designs and specifications of the Urban Development Authority. The company contributed Rs. 30 million for the project. The housing project for the tsunami affected continues under the Lakshman Yapa Abewardena Foundation. Forty–three permanent houses in two schemes in the Dondra Division were handed over to tsunami affected beneficiaries recently. Those housing schemes were built by IFRC, ICRC. Steps were taken to award lands for those who were not allocated land by the Southern Provincial Ministry of Land and Land Development. Under this programme, 27,500 plots of land will be handed over to these families before the end of 2006. Out of the total, 10,000 plots will be allocated to the Matara District. The Government of Switzerland has granted Rs. 1,550 million for owner driven housing programmes in the Matara and Trincomalee Districts. The project is coordinated by SDC. Donor Driven Houses (within the buffer zone) as at 21st of April: r e f f ion t u s c u ie o b r d t e ia e r s ic u r s f e e f r d Proposed f s ne e u e e 99% c og - ion it s r t Units u B l a l r s d o B a e e t DS Division THRU t nd f r 80% W in P r e o of s s k Require A ou e e N q s F h or ov ment e d ou R W e inis H F nd a ion H t c u d e Weligama 28 1433 728r 705 922 622 547 429 98 Matara 17 693 274 419 352 296 211 111 84 Devinuwara 14 428 106 322 398 373 323 272 42 Dickwella 13 584 355 229 314 162 141 122 74 Total 72 3138 1463 1675 1986 1453 1222 934 298 Source: THRU Partially Fully 2nd Inst 1st 3rd 4th DS Division 1st Inst 2nd Installment Rs.50,0 Installment Installment Installment Rs.50,000 Rs. 60,000 00 Rs. 50,000 Rs. 80,000 Rs. 60,000 Weligama 1645 1584 424 394 379 337 Matara 1971 1887 277 262 240 195 Devinuwara 230 201 51 48 43 39 Dickwella 313 299 70 70 64 55 TOTAL 4159 3971 822 774 726 626 Owner Driven Houses (outside the buffer zone) as at 02nd of May: Source: DS,SDC Compensation Paid by the Banks for Damaged Houses: Source: DS,SDC Permanent House GALLE The Salvation Army has complained that the glasses of the windows in houses break as a result of rocks which are blasted at the quarry in Galgoda. Housing Requirement Housing Requirement after Buffer reduction DS Division Partially Fully Partially Fully Total Total Damaged Damaged Damaged Damaged Weligama 1645 426 2071 1997 800 2797 Matara 1995 278 2273 2143 404 2547 Devinuwara 230 51 281 316 71 387 Dickwella 313 70 383 527 211 738 TOTAL 4183 825 5008 4983 1486 6469 The Haritha Foundation will be working on problems with regard to permanent housing. They will concentrate on widening access roads to the sites and checking for water quality. T/S C&M NRC has hired a gully sucker and anyone in need of the service could contact NRC. NRC is also using a pest control system for transitional shelters. NRC has launched first version of the Transitional Shelter Site Tracking (TSST). The second version will be released. Thus, data is being collected on sanitation, health, water, energy, safety, women and children, education, site management, and decommissioning of transitional shelters.