The government expected an influx of over 100,000 from uncleared areas in next couple of days, Presidential Secretariat sources said yesterday.

The number of displaced persons arriving in Vavuniya had increased by thousands during last two days with 4,000 and 6,000 people reaching the government-controlled areas on Saturday and Sunday respectively, sources said.

The number of IDPs has risen to 13,000 by yesterday, according to the Vavuniya District Secretariat.

Contacted for comment, Resettlement and Disaster Relief Minister Rischard A. Bathuideen said that Senior Presidential advisor, MP Basil Rajapaksa, had visited Vavuniya to inspect a plot of 1,000 acres of land for the construction of semi-permanent houses by the Vavuniya District Secretary Mrs. P. S. M. Charles. The UN agencies promised to support the construction of the houses expected to accommodate the displaced for a period of three years until their native places would be declared mine-free.

INGOs or NGOs were not allowed to enter any camps, the Minister said. The Treasury would bear the full cost of maintenance of those welfare centres.

Minister Bathuideen said three villages would be named Kadirgamar, Arunachalam and Ramanathan. There would be 12 transit camps at Nelunkulam, Pamphaimadu, Gamini MV, Chettikulam MV and the Punthottam Technical College in Vavuniya.

All government offices under the purview of the provincial and line ministries had been instructed to provide necessary infrastructural facilities, the Minister said. All basic amenities such as clean drinking water, sanitary facilities and electricity would be provided to the IDPs.

"There will be security posts, branches of Multi Purpose Cooperative Shop, People’s Bank and Bank of Ceylon and Divisional Secretariat to serve the people of new villages. Each village will have a Montessori, a playground and a separate medical centre with a doctor with medicine and an ambulance each" he said.