The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sri Lanka told the BBC Tamil service that providing water for the cultivation of land, where the war displaced are resettled, is important to generate an 'income of their own'.

Neil Buhne was speaking to Sivaramakrishnan Parameswaran at the conclusion of a three day visit in the Eastern Province with representatives from donor agencies .

"We visited Trincomalee. We visited interior areas of Batticaloa. We visited Tamil villages, Sinhala villages and Muslim villages," he said.

The Sri Lankan military took full control of the east in 2007 following a war launched in July 2006 accusing the Tamil Tiger rebels of closing the Mavilaru canal, affecting the livelihoods of thousands of farmers in Trincomalee.

Water supply inadequate

''Getting water is important as in these areas that are seasonally dry, wells and water supply are inadequate," said Neil Buhne.

He added that providing permanent shelter for the resettled is a 'pressing matter'.

''Houses have been destroyed by fighting as well as wild elephants," he said

While expressing satisfaction about the work done so far, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator was confident that more could be done with the help of the government.