set up more workshops at Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Ampara and Kandy hospitals for the benefit of needy children who require artificial li

AmeriCares International has promised to grant Rs.100 million to upgrade the health sector of Sri Lanka within a period of two years. Country Director, AmeriCares, Lisa Hilmi announced this yesterday during the opening of new Prosthetic and Orthodontic workshop set up at a cost of Rs.35 million at Lady Ridgway Hospital Colombo, a Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry spokesman said.
The organization has planned to invest the money within a period of two years and it will also set up more workshops at Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Ampara and Kandy hospitals for the benefit of needy children who require artificial limbs and other body parts.
Handicap is also funding a new building complex now being constructed at the Elpitiya General Hospital at a cost of Rs.450 million.
AmeriCares International also funds to provide medical equipment to nurses’ training schools, IDP camps and health centres. AmeriCares International is an U.S. based NGO engaged in social welfare activities in Sri Lanka and has contributed to upgrade the health sector in Sri Lanka significantly.

The Brandix factory in Punani, located in the conflict-recovering eastern district of Batticaloa,

The Brandix factory in Punani, located in the conflict-recovering eastern district of Batticaloa, is looking at doubling export output this year. The factory, yet to be given a name, has been in commercial operation since December last year. Brandix officials say the ‘Punani Project’ is performing well, although the group is experiencing a drop in export orders because of the global recession.

“We are currently producing 20,000 – 30,000 pieces of boys’ denim pants for a European buyer. We are looking at increasing output to about 50,000 – 75,000 pieces by about August-September this year,” the General Manager of Brandix Intimate Apparel, Theodore Gunasekera, told the Sunday Times FT on the sidelines of a press conference with the UNHCR last week. The country’s biggest apparel exporters called a press conference on Thursday to explain its involvement with UNHCR in assisting resettlement of displaced people.

However, the Brandix Punani Project is a separate, Rs 250 million investment by Brandix Lanka, made at the invitation of the government, to help generate jobs in the war-ravaged East. At the moment the factory employs around 220 people from all three ethnic communities.

A majority of the workers are women from families that were displaced due to the conflict and include about 40 rehabilitated ex-LTTE cadres.

Sri Lanka – MIC Newsline – June 19, 2009 – Dengue Casualties Rise – Six Killed within 24 Hours/ War Has Made 49,000 Widows in Eastern Province

Dengue Fever death toll in the country has risen up to 140 with six people dead within the 24 hours ending at 6.00 PM on Thursday the 18th instant. 10,417 people have been affected by this deadly disease according to the Health Ministry.

Gampaha district tops the list of Dengue casualties with 25 deaths followed by Kandy district with 24 and Colombo with 13 deaths. The disease is continuing to spread amidst various actions taken by the Ministry of Health.

According to the Health officials in Batticaloa, there are 317 people identified as dengue victims in the district with six people dead.

War Has Made 49,000 Widows in Eastern Province

“The three decades of war in Sri Lanka has made 49,000 women as widows in the Eastern Province” said Eastern Provincial Council Health Minister M.L.A.M. Hisbullah at a meeting held recently in Kattankudy.

“There are 25,000 widows in the Batticaloa district at present, out of them 12,000 women lost their husbands in the war during the recent past” the Health Minister said further. He said that the Provincial Council collected all these information.

Continuing his speech the minister said that the standard of living of these widows should be uplifted and be encouraged to improve their economic condition. ‘Self employed women in India have improved a lot and contributed towards the development of India. The same way the widows here too should be made to improve their economic status and develop the country’ he said.

Chief Minister’s Secretary Joins the Government Party

With the ending of the one year contract as Secretary to the Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan (TMVP) of the Eastern Provincial Council, yesterday, the former Secretary Mamangarajah has joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). He is to meet the Deputy President and the Eastern Province SLFP organizer, Minister Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan today to obtain his official membership with the SLFP.

DIG To Meet Traders, Jameathul Ulema and the Muslim Community of Kattankudy

The Batticaloa Deputy Inspector General of Police Edison Gunatileke is to meet the traders, Jameathul Ulema and the Muslim community of Kattankudy on Friday the 19th instant. It is learnt he is to discuss about the growing use of drugs, intoxicants and the increasing habit of smoking cigarettes among the youths under the age of 18 years.

He is also to discuss about youths using mobile phones for immoral acts such as viewing pornography films. It is learnt illegal weapons in the possession of a few people in Kattandy will also to be surrendered to the DIG on this occasion.

Batticaloa Fishermen

Batticaloa Fishermen A sofobomo 2009 Book by Markus Spring A Solo Foto Book
Month 2009 Book by Markus Springmspringgmxde httpspring2lifeblogspotcom �
2009 ...
<http://issuu.com/markus_spring/docs/batticaloa_fishermen_sofobomo09>

EPDP co-ordinator for the Batticaloa district K. Arumailingam being the latest to join the bandwagon.

The trend of Tamil politicians getting SLFP membership continues, with EPDP co-ordinator for the Batticaloa district K. Arumailingam being the latest to join the bandwagon.

According to government sources, Mr. Arumailingam, who is also a member of the Batticaloa Municipal Council, has decided to join the SLFP along with Mayor Sivageetha Prabhakaran.  They are expected to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa next week.

Mr. Arumailingam, who acted as the district co-ordinator for EPDP leader Minister Douglas Devananda, has reportedly tendered his resignation from the party. He had earlier been a member of the North-East Provincial Council headed by Vartharajah Perumal.

Minister Vinayagamurthy Muralitharan was the first eastern politician to join the SLFP, the largest party of the ruling coalition. Along with him hundreds of TMVP members too obtained its membership. Political analysts say that the new political phenomenon was a result of the government mounting pressure on the minority parties to become a part of the SLFP. 

TNA MP for the Wanni district, Sivanathan Kishore, has also expressed his support for the government’s development work in the Northern Province recently.

Military is still running after Tiger leader Nagulan and Kuilan operating in Batticaloa and Trincomalee

Whilst search operations were going on in Colombo the military is still running after Tiger leader Nagulan and Kuilan operating in Batticaloa and Trincomalee along with a handful of Tiger cadres. Military officials believe that they have already moved into the civilian settlement in the East as intense search operations conducted by the Security Forces have made it difficult for them to operate in the jungles.

ACTED SRI LANKA - AREA COORDINATOR BATTICALOA

Department: Coordination 

Position: Area CoP  Position: Area Coordinator Batticaloa

Contract duration: 12 months

Location: Batticaloa, Sri Lanka

Starting Date Immediate

Click here to see details

Moothoor IDPs relocated against their wish in Ki’liveddi

June 19th, 2009 

Sri Lanka police forcibly took away 224 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Moothoor in Trincomalee district presently staying in Kirimuddi refugee camp in Batticaloa district, against their wish, to be relocated in Ki?liveddi in Trincomalee district, Tuesday noon, sources in Batticaloa said. UNHCR representatives, representatives of NGOs besides government officials were present during this incident, the sources added.

http://www.australiantamil.com/?p=5063

Brandix, a top Sri Lankan apparel maker, is planning to boost production at a factory built in Batticaloa

June 16, 2009 (LBO) - Brandix, a top Sri Lankan apparel maker, is planning to boost production at a factory built in Batticaloa, a former war-torn area in the east of the island where ex-female Tiger combatants are also working, an official said.

"Our current production is 20,000 pieces and we want to push it up to 50,000 pieces," Theodore Gunasekara, general manager, intimate apparels at Brandix Lanka said.

"Of the current workforce of 220 working at the factory, 95 percent are women.

"This includes some ex-combatants as well."

In May Sri Lanka said the Tamil Tiger leadership was wiped out in the last redoubt in the north east of the country following a two and a half year war.

Eastern Sri Lanka was re-taken from the Tigers in the early phases of the campaign and local elections had already been held in the area, with a breakaway Tiger leader winning the polls.

Gunasekara said currently the factory is making pocket denim pants and will achieve a target of 50,000 pieces by end September 2009.

Brandix has invested 250 million rupees on the factory.

"The factory was made under a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative," said Gunasekara.

"We want to see if we can commercialize this CSR initiative."

source:http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?nid=1065451113

Kattankudy sends 40 cooks to feed IDPs

Forty Muslim cooks from Kattankudy accompanied by two members of the Kattankudy Mosque Federation left Kattankudy for the Wanni yesterday morning in a bus, a pick up and a lorry full of cooking utensils to prepare meals for the people rescued by the security forces from the clutches of the LTTE in the North.

Secretary of the Kattankudy Mosque Federation M. Sabeel, said that the Federation is sending these cooks to the Wanni at their own expense on the request of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, conveyed through the Chief Presidential Advisor and MP Basil Rajapaksa. The Kattankudy Mosque Federation also sent relief goods to the Wanni IDPs some time ago.

Meanwhile it is said the Muslims displaced from the North by the LTTE in October 1990 are also collecting relief items to be given to the war victims in government controlled areas.

source:http://www.nation.lk/2009/04/26/news4.html

Transfers for senior police officers

Senior police officers will be changing places as the Sri Lanka Police effects a series of transfers across the service. The transfers come under the instructions of the Inspector General of Police, based on recommendations by the Ministry of Defence and the Police Commissioner. A press release from Police Headquarters lists the transfers as follows: Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) transfers

W. U. Fernando, Batticaloa Operations to IT and CCTV

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) transfers

B. B. Ranaweera, Puttalam to Batticaloa

Superintendent of Police (SP) transfers

Batticaloa to Director Supplies Police HQ

TMVP takes steps to revamp

The TMVP has taken steps to revamp the party to be a ‘considerable political force’ following the defeat of the LTTE, Party Spokesperson Azath Moulana said.

Moulana told The Sunday Leader the party had already taken steps by revamping its political offices in the east and by appointing new members in these districts.

"The TMVP needs to reorganise to be a force to reckon in the Tamil political circles. There is more room for us to do that since the LTTE has been defeated," Moulana said.

There was speculation of a rift within the party following Batticaloa Mayor, Sivageetha Pirapaharan’s decision to resign from the TMVP and join government ranks.

Moulana said that this had not affected the party’s relationship with the government. He said the TMVP would continue to assist the government in its efforts to bring a political solution and to develop the country.

"The TMVP will continue to maintain a friendly relationship with the government and assist in its development and peace efforts," Moulana added.

The TMVP had been plagued by internal rifts in the recent past.

Its former leader, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan along with a few of his supporters joined the SLFP in March this year following a split within the party.

http://www.thesundayleader.lk/20090614/NEWS-3.htm

TNA Batticaloa district MP Thangeswari Kadiraman also hit headlines

TNA Batticaloa district MP Thangeswari Kadiraman also hit headlines locally and internationally by coming to the parliament wearing a salwar in breach of parliament dress code that eventually caused her to be evicted from the House.

Arumainayagam resumes as GA Batticaloa district

By TamilNet Newswire
Mr. Sundaram Arumainayagam has assumed duties again as the Government Agent
of Batticaloa district with effect from Monday. He was on study leave to
undergo a special course in public administration in Singapore for one
year. ...
<http://www.australiantamil.com/?p=4977>

dengue fever has risen to 91 with the latest incident reporting from Batticaloa last evening. ...

* A special telephone number to help control dengue in Sri Lanka
Colombo Page - Colombo,Sri Lanka
Meanwhile the total number of deaths on dengue fever has risen to 91 with
the latest incident reporting from Batticaloa last evening. ...
<http://www.colombopage.com/archive_091/Jun1244052607RA.html>

With the strong likelihood of the entire TMVP membership taking SLFP

With the strong likelihood of the entire TMVP membership taking SLFP
membership, Batticaloa Mayor Sivageetha Prabhakaran said yesterday that she
had been convinced of the need to join the SLFP as well, following in the
steps of National ...
<http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=50661>

Pictorial Roadside Hopper Makers in Maamangam Batticaloa

While traveling to Batticaloa it's very refreshing to witness the firewood
carriers trying to manage a whole load of firewood on their bicycles and
ride ...
<http://transcurrents.com/tc/2009/05/post_367.html>