Sri Lanka repair works could take months to complete

THE clean-up operation on the stricken island of Sri Lanka could take months, aid agencies said yesterday.

At least 79,000 houses have been completely wiped out across the island and a further 20,000 partially destroyed. Whole villages and communities have been demolished, leaving a devastating wreckage of buildings, telephone wires and people’s personal possessions.

The village of Dutchbar, near Batticaloa on the east coast, was razed, with houses and schools flattened. Mangled bicycles, dented pots, remnants of Christmas trees and torn clothing lay strewn about.

A string of Christmas fairy lights stood out - wrapped around the concrete remains of the house they once lit up.

Wandering among the ruins, there was the distinctive, pungent smell of death, as many bodies have yet to be discovered. A team of search and rescue dogs arrived at the village to start the grim task of finding the dead, who have lain entombed for almost a week.

According to government figures, 4,800 people are still missing, feared to have either been washed away or buried beneath the rubble but, while hundreds of thousands are still desperate for clean water, shelter and food, the clearing up process is not the number one priority.

Vasuki Jeyasankar, an aid worker who lives in Batticaloa, said the rebuilding process would take time.

“Even if we could focus on the clearing up, we do not have the equipment or the people to do it,” she said. “We are not organised for such a thing.” Anjali Kwatra, from Christian Aid, said although it would take time to rebuild the communities, the need for supplies was still important.

“In the immediate aftermath and in the coming days, the immediate priority is to make sure all these people who have been made homeless have food, clean water and that disease does not break out,” she said. “We have also got to start thinking about long-term plans to rehabilitate, we cannot leave it as it is. We really need to get these people back into their homes or where they want to live.”

There are also problems with the political situation, with the long-running dispute between the Tamil separatists in the north and east and the government of Sri Lanka, which has run for 20 years.

A ceasefire was declared only three years ago, which means the infrastructure in the north and the east is still very poor.

There is also a shortage of administrative staff and government officials in the north and the east.