A senior Indian government delegation led by Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka this week to review the prevailing situation in the country, authoritative sources said yesterday.

Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa, MP, told The Sunday Island this was one of the regular visits undertaken on a reciprocal basis.

"Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa called on the Indian government recently", he noted. "Now, we are having an Indian delegation on the same lines".

Indian High Commission sources in Colombo could not confirm or deny the visit or composition of the delegation. There was however speculation that Indian Defence Secretary Shri Vijay Singh and Senior Defence Advisor Shri Sundaram Krishna will also be part of the visiting team.

Meanwhile, the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo Alok Prasad had expressed satisfaction over the manner in which the humanitarian relief assistance provided by the Government of India had been distributed amongst the displaced in the Vanni, Presidential Secretariat sources said.

Prasad had expressed his government’s satisfaction over the handling of the task at a top level meeting to review the progress of government officials looking into the needs and welfare of IDPs in the Vanni, the sources said.

The meeting was convened by Basil Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday .

TULF Leader V. Anandasangari and PLOTE Leader Dharmalingam Siddharthan were also present with Commissioner General of Essential Services (CGES) S. B. Divaratne along with Government Agents of Mullaitivu Mrs Emelda Sukumar, Government Agent Vavuniya Mrs P.S.M.Charles and Government Agent of Kilinochchi S. Vethanayagam.

The Governments Agents said that another consignment of 150,000 cadjans had been dispatched last week. A convoy of 54 lorries of the World Food Program (WFP) had left for the Vanni on Thursday and that there were sufficient stocks of food in hand.

The Vavuniya GA said that altogether 1500 IDPs had arrived from the Vanni and whilst most were placed in the transit camp and provided with cooked food, clothing etc. around 100 families were moved to a permanent housing camp situated at the Menik Farm.

They were given housing units and provided with packs of clothing, dry rations, cooking utensils and school books. The children will be found schools.

Responding to the offer of further humanitarian assistance by the Government of India made by the High Commissioner in Colombo, Basil Rajapaksa said that it would be of great help if the Indian Government could come forward to provide "family packs" to the displaced entering government controlled areas by escaping from the clutches of the LTTE which had used them as human shields.