India to provide 10,000 bicycles to returnees in Sri Lanka's Northern Province
Colombo: The Indian government is undertaking a project to provide 10,000 bicycles to the returnees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as well as refugees, in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.
A press release from the Indian High Commission in Colombo said the project, aimed at catering to the transportation needs of persons being resettled and to aid revival of their livelihoods, is in response to requirements projected by the Sri Lankan government and as a part of India's development partnership with Sri Lanka.
The High Commission has awarded the contract to provide the bicycles, both ladies and gents, to a leading Indian manufacturer. The total cost of the project is about Rs. 67 million.
The supply of bicycles is expected to commence by early November 2011. The supplier has also undertaken to set up a permanent assembly plant in Vavuniya not only to provide the bicycles but also to also to provide employment to local people on a continuing basis.
The High Commission says the intended beneficiaries are being selected from the most vulnerable of the returnees and it is expected that provision of a bicycle to the resettled families will provide the necessary mobility and facilitate access to essential services.
"In discussions with the Government of Sri Lanka, a bicycle was identified as the item which is most needed to enhance and anchor return and is utilized by the entire community irrespective of age, gender or cultural diversities," the High Commission statement said.
Necessary support was extended to the High Commission of India by the agencies of the Government of Sri Lanka, in particular the Presidential Task Force for Rehabilitation, Security and Development of Northern Province and the Ministry of Infrastructure, Northern Province in the process of identification and selection of a suitable supplier.
" India has been supporting projects for rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced persons in the Northern Province in the areas of shelter (through roofing sheets and cement bags), health-care (providing emergency medical relief, organizing artificial limbs refitment camps and equipping hospitals), livelihood generation (provision of fishing equipment, tractors, agricultural equipment and seeds) and education (repairs of schools and setting up of vocational training centres)," the statement further said.
Sri Lanka : India to provide 10,000 bicycles to returnees in Sri Lanka\'s Northern Province
Colombo: The Indian government is undertaking a project to provide 10,000 bicycles to the returnees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as well as refugees, in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.
A press release from the Indian High Commission in Colombo said the project, aimed at catering to the transportation needs of persons being resettled and to aid revival of their livelihoods, is in response to requirements projected by the Sri Lankan government and as a part of India's development partnership with Sri Lanka.
The High Commission has awarded the contract to provide the bicycles, both ladies and gents, to a leading Indian manufacturer. The total cost of the project is about Rs. 67 million.
The supply of bicycles is expected to commence by early November 2011. The supplier has also undertaken to set up a permanent assembly plant in Vavuniya not only to provide the bicycles but also to also to provide employment to local people on a continuing basis.
The High Commission says the intended beneficiaries are being selected from the most vulnerable of the returnees and it is expected that provision of a bicycle to the resettled families will provide the necessary mobility and facilitate access to essential services.
"In discussions with the Government of Sri Lanka, a bicycle was identified as the item which is most needed to enhance and anchor return and is utilized by the entire community irrespective of age, gender or cultural diversities," the High Commission statement said.
Necessary support was extended to the High Commission of India by the agencies of the Government of Sri Lanka, in particular the Presidential Task Force for Rehabilitation, Security and Development of Northern Province and the Ministry of Infrastructure, Northern Province in the process of identification and selection of a suitable supplier.
" India has been supporting projects for rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced persons in the Northern Province in the areas of shelter (through roofing sheets and cement bags), health-care (providing emergency medical relief, organizing artificial limbs refitment camps and equipping hospitals), livelihood generation (provision of fishing equipment, tractors, agricultural equipment and seeds) and education (repairs of schools and setting up of vocational training centres)," the statement further said.
Sri Lanka : India to provide 10,000 bicycles to returnees in Sri Lanka\'s Northern Province