Hospitals first, hotels can wait, say Jaffna residents

By Vipul Sivakumaran (Island) A mega cash injection is needed to upgrade the quality of services at the overcrowded Jaffna Teaching Hospital and other state medical institutions in the northern peninsula, say residents and parliamentarians. The residents are urging Colombo-based policy-makers to focus on developing hospitals in Jaffna to support post-war reconstruction efforts and tourism promotion. "It is good that new hotels are being planned in Jaffna, but where will visitors and tourists go, if there is no satisfactory hospital system here?" asked 70-year-old pensioner Thanikasalam Ramachandran. http://www.island.lk/2010/04/19/news1.html