The Rs. 104 million first phase of the restoration project is to be carried out by the newly opened regional office of Archaeological Department in Jaffna.
The Department has appointed a reservation officer for the Jaffna office.
The Ministry of National Heritage and Cultural Affairs says that it expects to complete the ramparts of the Jaffna Fort by November 2012.
Jaffna Fort was built as a small garrison by the Portuguese in 1618 when the Portuguese invaded Jaffna. Later, in 1658 the Dutch captured it from the Portuguese and expanded its location further. It was taken over by the British in 1795.
Tamil rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forced the Sri Lanka Army to withdraw from the fort in 1986 and captured it. Sri Lanka Army in 1996 recaptured the entire Fort surroundings under Riviresa operation and brought it under them.
Director General of the Archeological Department Dr. Senarath Dissanayake recently said to media that although the wall is repairable, the ancient Dutch church building inside the fort is beyond repair.
Previous reports said that the cost for the reservation project was estimated at Rs. 400 million and the Government of Netherlands would provide assistance for the project.
No comments:
Post a Comment