Indian High Commissioner visits Batti and Ampara
Indian High Commissioner, Y.K. Sinha, visited Batticaloa and Ampara from March 23-25, 2015. He held wide ranging discussions with various stakeholders including Chief Minister of Eastern Province, Nazeer Ahamed; Minister of Health, Eastern Province, M.I.M. Mansoor; and District Secretary, Batticaloa, Ms. P.S.M. Charles, to assess on the ground the impact of Government of India’s projects and to understand local priorities and requirements with respect to development assistance.
On March 24, 2015 High Commissioner reviewed the SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) project in Batticaloa, which is being implemented under Government of India's assistance. The SLR 200 million project aims to empower war affected / destitute women in Batticaloa. High Commissioner also handed over certificates to 20 trainees, who have undergone training in sewing and information and communication technology. The training programme was conducted by the “Eastern Province Women’s Self Employed Development Cooperative Society”, a society formed by beneficiaries of the SEWA project.
The High Commissioner handed over houses constructed under the second phase of the Indian Housing Project to beneficiaries in Vaharai, Batticaloa on March 25. He also inspected a few houses in the region. Chief Minister, Eastern Province graced the occasion. In his remarks, he thanked the Government of India for all assistance, including the Housing Project. Chief Minister sought further assistance from the Government of India, mainly focusing on transfer of technologies in the fields of agriculture, inland fisheries and small scale industries. In his remarks, High Commissioner pointed out that in Batticaloa district, more than 1600 houses have been completed and another 1000 are at various stages of construction.
While appreciating the progress, he informed that 45,000 houses under the second phase would be completed by end-2015. High Commissioner also highlighted the Government of India's fresh Line of Credit of US$ 318 million for the railways sector, which was announced by Prime Minister of India during his visit to Sri Lanka from March 13-14, 2015, and in response to a request for greater rail connectivity of the Eastern Province with the rest of the country, he pointed out that part of the fresh Line of Credit extended by India could be utilized for this purpose.
