Ready to do more to help reconstruction in Tamil areas: India FM

Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka, Jan 18 (PTI) India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today used his visit to this former LTTE bastion, the first by any Indian leader in recent years, to assure the war-weary Tamils of northern Sri Lanka of India's unflinching support and help as they pick up their lives following decades of bloodshed. Krishna distributed newly-built houses and renovated schools, constructed with Indian assistance, and said India was willing to provide more help for the development of the war-torn region. Arriving in this town, that still carries the scars of the three-decade-old ethnic conflict, by a helicopter from capital Colombo, Krishna also handed over high-tech medical equipment worth Rupees 15 million (about USD 30,000) to the District Central Hospital here which attracts patients from the three northern districts of Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu. The Minister, who was accompanied by his Sri Lankan counterpart G L Peiris, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Small Industries Minister and Tamil leader Douglas Devananda, asserted that India remains fully committed towards the rehabilitation, resettlement and well-being of displaced persons in the Northern Province. Inaugurating the first of the 79 renovated schools, that were badly damaged due to the war between the Sri Lankan Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Krishna said the project was aimed at delivering a facelift to basic educational infrastructure of the region. "I am happy to note that as a result of this intervention families will be able to send their children to schools, and students will have a decent learning environment offering them a better future," Krishna said. "India remains fully committed towards rehabilitation, resettlement and well-being of displaced persons in the Northern Province. We stand ready to do more," he said. PTI