TNPF leader and Jaffna District MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has accused NPP/JVP government of using development as a pretext to acquire 3,000 acres in Valikamam north while neglecting India-funded Palaly airport improvements.

Speaking at a press conference at the Vadamarachchi media house in Point Pedro recently, Ponnambalam said the JVP/NPP government was pursuing the acquisition of around 3,000 acres under the pretext of expanding the airport. The lawmaker argued that the government should instead concentrate on completing the airport’s already planned development programme, which he said could be undertaken without acquiring additional land, Tamil Guardian reported.

Palaly airport has been designated an international airport and currently operates only limited services to India. According to him, however, the government has failed to demonstrate sufficient interest in improving and expanding those existing operations, despite a three-stage development plan for the airport. He said the government is instead delaying the implementation of the planned stages while pressing ahead with proposals that would require further land acquisition.

MP Gajendrakumar particularly pointed to the second phase of the development programme, under which the airport runway is to be rehabilitated. He said the Indian government had offered to provide the full funding required for the runway rehabilitation, but accused the Sri Lankan government of failing to show the necessary commitment to implement the project.

“If that work is carried out, the standard of Palaly airport can be improved without the need to acquire additional land,” Gajendrakumar said. He maintained that India is prepared to provide the necessary financial assistance, questioning why the JVP/NPP government is not proceeding with the planned three-stage redevelopment of the airport instead of pursuing an expansion involving civilian land.

The criticism comes against the backdrop of the NPP’s previous pledges concerning the release of lands under military occupation in the North and East. For many Tamils who supported the NPP on the expectation that such lands would be returned, the continued pressure surrounding land in Valikamam North raises concerns that the change of government has not necessarily translated into a change in the state’s approach to Tamil people’s concerns.

Gajendrakumar warned that proceeding with the proposed expansion could result in around 3,000 acres in Valikamam North being permanently lost by their civilian owners. He said Tamil people could support development work that had already been planned for Palaly airport, but that there could be no support for an expansion programme that would require the acquisition of additional land.

The MP urged residents to understand the government’s underlying objective, arguing that the airport’s development is being presented as justification for acquiring land rather than as a genuine effort to improve its existing infrastructure and services. He said the government should proceed with the development that can be undertaken using the funding already offered by India, rather than advancing an expansion that would further affect civilian landholdings.

More than 100 people have been killed in Nepal and Tibet, and hundreds of tourists are missing, after a massive flash flood and mudslide

The missing tourists include more than 100 from India, 54 from the US, and 33 from the UK,  as well as more than 100 from Nepal itself, according to Nepal’s tourist board. The area is popular with pilgrims and trekker.

Dozens of police officers and army prtxonnel  are also missing, as well as power workers. My family was swept away in front of me, one woman tells us – she and her son survived by climbing to a rooftop

In Tibet, Chinese state media report three dead and 265 missing,  CCTV from Tibet shows a wall of water and mud hitting buildings at a border crossing.

Authorities initially thought an earthquake may have triggered a landslide – the US Geological Survey now says the sesimic energy was instead generated by a landslide.

(BBC)

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