A special programme to restore the public services in the Mannar district, which was recently liberated from the clutches of the LTTE,was launched by the Government a few days back, Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs Karu Jayasuriya said.

Under this initiative, schools, health services and all government agencies that were not functioning properly will be brought back to normalcy with the required staff, material and equipment needed to serve the people, he said.

"These people had been undergoing severe hardships for decades under the LTTE", the minister said.

The Minister, who was the chief guest at a ceremony for school children of the North and the South, Denuwara Mithuro held at the Hapitigama Vidya Peetha (Institute of Higher Education), said the amity among different ethnic groups was the basis for a sustainable socio-economic development.

Before the conflict in the North had started, all communities lived in harmony. Unfortunately, the conflict had damaged national amity and the government was making every effort to bring back peace and amity to the country, Jayasuriya said.