Colombo disaster relief distribution completed before January 5

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has instructed relevant officials to complete the distribution of government relief to the disaster-affected people in the Colombo District by January 05. The Prime Minister gave these instructions during the Colombo District Disaster Management Committee meeting held on the 30th at the Colombo District Secretariat.

This meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.

There, the Prime Minister inquired about the progress of relief programs implemented in the 13 Divisional Secretariats of the district. She pointed out that 141 houses in the Colombo District have been completely destroyed due to the "Ditwa" cyclone, and 19,126 houses have suffered partial damage. The Prime Minister stated that 51,032 applications have been received for the Rs. 25,000 provided for cleaning disaster-affected houses, and payments for 48,167 of these have already been completed.

A few remaining applications have been rejected due to issues, and steps have been taken to reconsider some of them. Accordingly, a progress of 94.38% has been reported among the eligible applications. In addition, 7,535 applications have been received for the Rs. 50,000 allowance provided by the government for obtaining kitchen equipment, and payments for 3,049 of these have already been completed. She instructed officials to expedite the provision of these allowances to all remaining individuals. Furthermore, 14,597 applications have been received for the Rs. 15,000 allowance provided for school students, and the Prime Minister instructed that these allowances be paid expeditiously within the next few days.

Accordingly, the Prime Minister emphasized that the Rs. 50,000 for those whose houses were damaged and for kitchen and essential equipment, and the Rs. 15,000 for schoolchildren, must be disbursed and completed by January 05. The disposal of accumulated waste from the disaster, resolving housing issues for families affected by the current disaster situation, flood control strategies, and the integrated physical plan for flood control in the Colombo District were also extensively discussed at this meeting. Accordingly, the Prime Minister further instructed officials to obtain accurate data on unauthorized settlers and families residing in high-risk areas when resolving housing issues for families affected by the disaster, to conduct a site inspection and submit a report, and to expedite the provision of the integrated physical plan for flood control in the Colombo District.

Deputy Ministers Eranga Gunasekara and Kaushalya Ariyaratne, several Members of Parliament including Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi, Chairman of the District Coordinating Committee, District Secretary Ginige Prasanna Janaka Kumara, Additional District Secretary (Lands) Kaushalya Kumari, along with staff officers of the District Secretariat, all Divisional Secretaries, and many officials representing the Department of Irrigation, the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation, and the District Disaster Management Committee participated in this event.