Sri Lanka: Upper Kotmale resettlement begins

Colombo: Resettlement of families under the Upper Kotmale Hydropower project has commenced with the first group reaching agreement with the Ceylon Electricity Board to expedite the allocation of the new houses. Power and Energy Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne who visited the site handed over the relevant documents to the families at a simple ceremony at the Project Office Thalawakelle.

The agreement will ensure that the 21 families of the Nanu-oya Division 4, the Thalawakelle Estate whose line rooms will go under water once the reservoir is completed will receive new houses built at Nanu-oya Janapadaya facilitating the CEB to proceed with the project.

The Minister assured the recipients and their family members that they will be given permanent title deeds soon.

The Minister added that all families who would be displaced due to the construction of the reservoir will be given new houses located close to their original settlements and within the town limits.

The resettlement programme will provide for the replacement of all religious places of worship that would be submerged, the minister said.

The Minister added that all the houses would have electricity, pipe-borne water and other infrastructure facilities, better than what they enjoyed. These housing schemes will be also include libraries, co-operatives shops, community centres etc.

According to Project Director Shaveendranath Fernando a total of 498 houses in four categories will be built around Thalawakelle. The total cost of the resettlement programme for the construction of buildings and associated infrastructure was around Rs. 600 million, he said.