by

Madura Ranwala

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will hand over a part of recovered gold jewellery belonging to over 2,100 Northerners at Temple Trees today.

Those valuables had been recovered by the army from the ‘Eelam banks’ set up by the LTTE in the North.

Addressing the weekly media briefing at Kollupitiya yesterday, Military and Urban Development Ministry Spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said that the army would provide transport facilities travelling from Jaffna, Vavuniya and other parts of East and North to Colombo to receive their jewellery.

They would be brought to Temple Trees in four trains including Yal Devi.

Those coming to collect their lost gold jewellery would stop at the Polgahawela station for sightseeing around 10.00 a.m. and they would also be provided with refreshments there, the Brigadier said.

Asked why the jewellery was being handed back at Temple Trees despite the Presidential election being around the corner, the Brigadier said that there was no special reason, but the army felt it was necessary to hand over those gold items to rightful owners soon as the verification was completed.

Answering our query, the Brigadier said that there were still some gold items left behind sans owners and those would be handed over to the Central Bank in keeping with the law.

Courtesy:The Island