Under the theme “A Place of One’s Own – Beautiful Life,” a special housing programme to construct homes for 2,500 families in the Northern and Eastern Provinces who were affected by the war and are living without permanent housing was officially launched today – on Friday 16 January 2026. This programme forms part of the national initiative to construct 31,218 new houses across the country.
In Meesalai East, Chavakachcheri, Jaffna, the foundation stone for a selected beneficiary’s house was laid by the beneficiary’s family members in the presence of His Excellency the President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Following this, at the main ceremony held at the Meesalai Veerasingam Primary School playground, housing grant cheques were distributed to beneficiaries in the presence of His Excellency the President. The event was also attended by the Hon. Governor of the Northern Province, N. Vethanayahan.
This housing project is being implemented with the objective of improving the livelihoods of displaced families who have been living in temporary shelters for a long time, and of creating a safe and secure future for them.
The event commenced with a welcome address by the Secretary to the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, Engineer L. P. Kumuthu Lal. Addresses were delivered by the Hon. Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, Dr. H. M. Susil Ranasinghe, and the Hon. Member of Parliament for the Jaffna District, K. Ilankumaran. Thereafter, His Excellency President Anura Kumara Dissanayake delivered the keynote address.
The event was also attended by the Hon. Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Resources, Ramalingam Chandrasekar, the Hon. Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Ananda Wijepala, and Hon. Members of Parliament for the Jaffna District, J. Rajeevan and S. Sribavanantharajah.
In addition, the District Secretary of Jaffna, district secretariat officials, heads of departments, beneficiaries, and a large number of the public were present.
