It is compulsory for officers on duty at an ammo dump to have followed the ammunition technical officer (ATO) course, the training for which several officers are sent each year to India and Pakistan.

Also, soldiers should follow the ammunition technician (AT) course to become eligible to serve at an ammo dump, and personnel are sent every year to India for training.

CID investigations have revealed that officers at the central arms and ammunition dump at Veyangoda and the sub ammunition dumps at Veyangoda, Welisara and Kosgama have not had such training.

The foreign trained officers have been deployed for other duties.

Maj. Gen. Kenneth Edema, USP, who was the administrator of the Kosgama ammo dump is not an ATO, but actually should have been in charge of the supply of vehicles, fuel and meals.

Also, Maj. Roshan Perera, who was previously in charge of the ammo dump, was recently given a punishment transfer to Diyatalawa and in his place was appointed a lieutenant without any specialist training.

9,000 tons of ammunition lost

Meanwhile, ammunition weighing around 9,000 tons had been destroyed in the explosion, and unofficial sources say the ammunition was stored in an unprofessional manner.

The loss of ammunition alone is nearly Rs. 10 billion.

The Kosgama sub ammunition dump was established in the early 1990s during the Chandrika Kumaratunga regime despite protests by area residents against its location in a populated area.

During the war, more than 20,000 tons of ammunition were kept there, and half of them were removed to the Veyangoda sub ammunition dump, which is housed in the premises which previously was the Veytex company.