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| Mine-Action |
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In the North East, the tsunami disaster came after much of the population were already attempting to rebuild their lives following years of intense conflict and the threat of mines and unexploded ordinance (UXO).
Under the Mine Action project Norwegian People's Aid (NPA), together with its local de-mining partner in Kilinochchi, Humanitarian De-mining Unit (HDU), has been integral in the clearance of mines and UXO in both tsunami resettlement areas alongside work in general community zones.
Minefields along the coast in the Vanni had already been cleared by NPA/HDU prior to the tsunami. However, even in the absence of minefields, other dangerous remnants of war that have a potential to maim and kill ((grenades, mortars and artillery shells) remain strewn across coastal areas hampering reconstruction efforts. |
Initially NPA /HDU removed and destroyed over 50 items of unexploded ordnance in 38 transit sites in the districts of Jaffna and Mullaitivu prior to the relocation of tsunami survivors. Similarly, in Phase 3, NPA/HDU Battle Area Clearance (BAC) teams supported by flail machines conducted a UXO clearance operation in permanent settlement construction areas. The first priority was the Solidar construction sites in the village clusters of Chempianpattu North, Vathirayan and Uduthurai where a total of 1125 houses are to be erected. |
In addition to 'Solidar' villages, however, NPA-supported BAC teams began to implement similar clearance operations throughout the coastal region of the Vanni - facilitating construction activities for other organisations including: |
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Forut |
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Hudec/Caritas |
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Sri Lanka Red Cross |
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Care |
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Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation |
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Save the Children |
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Sewa Lanka |
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UNICEF |
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Humedica |
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World Vision |
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This was a significant contribution to the overall reconstruction process in NE Sri Lanka , paving the way for the construction of some 9,000 houses in 56 villages, In Vadamarachi East alone, about 5 million square metres of land have been cleared by HDU teams. |
BAC removed surface UXO and facilitates the marking of household plots, roads and community buildings. This was followed by a subsurface investigation to explore the possible presence of UXO at depth in permanent housing construction sites to prevent buried ordnance from being accidentally detonated during excavation activities. |
| NPA's Mine Action Mine Clearance Programme in the North and North East of Sri Lanka, is funded mainly by the Norwegian Government (NMFA) and the Japanese Government (ODA), as well as other international donors. The majority of operations are conducted from Kilinochchi where funding and support is given to the Humanitarian Demining Unit (HDU).
The Programme also supports the Sri Lankan Army Humanitarian Mine Action Mini-Flail clearance machine, and has given technical support and funding to other Demining Agencies operating in Sri Lanka to date (Indian NGOs; Horizon and Savatra, and the national Demining NGO, MMIPE). he Mine Action Programme operates from the national head office based in Colombo and has Field Bases located at Vavuniya and Kilinochchi. It operates and reports under the strict guidance of the Sri Lankan National Steering Committee for Mine Action (NSCMA), which is responsible to the ministry of Nation Building and Development (NBD). All clearance conducted to International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) and the statistics recorded in IMSMA. |
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| Contact Details |
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+94-11-2506397 |
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+94-11-2559275 |
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SOLIDAR CONSORTIUM
2, Jawatte Avenue
Colombo 5
Sri Lanka |
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