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Two million mines buried in the North and East
Thursday, 26 July 2007 - 4:37 AM SL Time
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Though there was an ambitious plan to make Sri Lanka landmine free by 2008, it may take decades to clear more than two million mines and other explosive devices buried in the North and East during over two decades of confrontation due to the dearth of competent de-miners and lack of funding.
It transpired in a recent workshop for the media personal organized by the Landmine Advocacy Forum and the Sri Lanka Press Institute that only 161,415 landmines and other explosive devices had been cleared by various de mining groups operating in the North and the East during the past five years, that included 97,952 anti personal mines, about 46,000 unexploded shells, mortars and grenades, 16,700 explosive devices and 112 anti tank mines.
`To clear all these mines and other explosive devices, there are only 1,600 competent de-miners available,` Monty Ranatunge, the Director National De-mining Steering Committee said.
He said various organizations, including INGOs NGOs and the Sri Lanka Army, have their de-mining teams operating in the government controlled areas of the North and the East. They have been able to clear about 129 square kms of land of free from 2002 to the present.
Ranatunga said that mine clearing in the Eastern Province has recorded a remarkable progress so far as the de miners operating there had been able to clear 49 square kms out of the total 89 square kms of minefields in the Baticaloa District and about 44 square kms out of the total 67 square kms laid with mines in the Trincomalee District.
`However two Indian de-mining teams and a Sri Lankan de-mining team, organized by the Milinda Moragoda Foundation, are facing financial troubles at present,` Ranatunga said.
They have been left out in the Japanese US$ 3.2 million grant approved recently to the INGO`s involved with mine clearing activities in Sri Lanka.
Briefing on technical aspects of mine clearing, Brig. Ananda Chandrasiri said that un-availability of layout plans of mines planted by the LTTE has become a major obstacle in the mine clearing works where the security forces have handed over 3000 such layout maps to the de miners, except those pertaining to high security zones.
He said that most of mined lands in the North and East are now been long abandoned and covered with thick vegetation, which has also hindered the progress of clearing works.
`Sometimes mines laid in soft soil are washed away in rain and buried deeper causing a bigger risk as such bombs couldn`t be sensed by mine detectors,` Brig. Chandrasiri said.
He said that though mechanical de-mining devices are used, the manual methods though a little slower are still proven to be highly effective, because it could only assure a land to be 100% free of mines.
`Such stringent quality assurance is expected in de mining works because the lands freed are always used in civilian purposes` the Brigadier added.
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costa
Joined: Jun 2007
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 25 Jul 2007 21:43:50 GMT Report for Abuse
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North and East is full of mines
- Courtesy to LTTE.
it seams their fake homeland is full of mines. |
Saint
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 25 Jul 2007 21:45:35 GMT Report for Abuse
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Two million mines buried in the North and East
Digging them out won't be an easy thing, innocent children will suffer.
Edited By - Saint - 25 Jul 2007 21:48:41 GMT |
AnuD
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 25 Jul 2007 21:51:09 GMT Report for Abuse
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| IS there any way, we can get LTTEers to run over these mines. |
kotia
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25 Jul 2007 22:13:14 GMT Report for Abuse
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Those are TAMIL eelam's prosperity. they will dig them up at the right time.
Can be considered as the historical monuments with a thousands of history.
this would be the history they were discussing in this page. |
Piyal
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25 Jul 2007 22:33:23 GMT Report for Abuse
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I saw in extreme weapons program in the discovery channel, there is a bulldozer type vehicle equipped with chains rotating in very high speed that dig out the mines and blast them.
I think with the capability of the engineering regiment in SLA, they might be able to build such a vehicle that can make the de-miners' job easy,....
I don't know why this country is not looking for new inventions and the use of technology to solve problems.
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kotia
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25 Jul 2007 22:38:00 GMT Report for Abuse
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Piyal
I think with the capability of the engineering regiment in SLA, they might be able to build such a vehicle that can make the de-miners' job easy,....
I don't know why this country is not looking for new inventions and the use of technology to solve problems.
The answer is simple. If it cost 1 actually the gov. needs to pay 5.
2- minister
1- his chap
and another one to the secret keeper |
Saint
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25 Jul 2007 22:42:34 GMT Report for Abuse
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This is a sad situation, we all see the devastating effects, but never thought this problem will come close to us.
Princess Diana made huge contributions and added personal touch to world de-mining program.
We need a guardian like that, and we need one of them fast.
Edited By - Saint - 25 Jul 2007 23:21:13 GMT |
Vignesh
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 25 Jul 2007 22:52:00 GMT Report for Abuse
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I heard from my dad there are thousands of innocent tamil civilians in Vanni who got injured with this LTTE land minds. Specially the farmers and stuff.
Baberic LTTE thugs never gives a stuff about the innocent civilians.
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Sintamus
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 25 Jul 2007 22:55:07 GMT Report for Abuse
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The president forcast an increase of production in Sri Lanka and it has come true.
It transpired in a recent workshop for the media personal organized by the Landmine Advocacy Forum and the Sri Lanka Press Institute that only 161,415 landmines and other explosive devices had been cleared by various de mining groups operating in the North and the East during the past five years, that included 97,952 anti personal mines, about 46,000 unexploded shells, mortars and grenades, 16,700 explosive devices and 112 anti tank mines
Other record increases in his admministration is printing bank notes, killing Sri Lankans at the rate of 335/month and disappearances at the rate of 140/month.
Record: 37 NGOs killed
2 MPs and 6 local councillors killed
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samadi
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25 Jul 2007 23:06:13 GMT Report for Abuse
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I saw in extreme weapons program in the discovery channel, there is a bulldozer type vehicle equipped with chains rotating in very high speed that dig out the mines and blast them.
I also saw this in TV in Japan, they blow the mines by this machine granted by JICA in Cambodia, And thought it would benefit us also..
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