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Relief for flood-hit Samurdhi families

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The Samurdhi Ministry will shortly release Rs.100 million to provide relief measures to the Samurdhi beneficiary families who have been displaced as a result of recent floods, Agriculture, Livestock and Samurdhi Minister S.B. Dissanayake told a press conference yesterday.

Minister Dissanayake said this money will be released from the Samurdhi Social Security Fund to assist the victims of Samurdhi beneficiary families who have faced severe hardships as a result of the worst floods in the country in decades.

"Of the total number of nearly 1.9 million Samurdhi recipient families, 25 per cent have been affected by floods. Of the total population in Ratnapura district, 47 per cent are Samurdhi beneficiary families while 56 per cent of the total population in Hambantota district are Samurdhi beneficiaries," he said.

In addition to this, the Samurdhi Social Security Fund provides Rs.5000 for a death of a Samurdhi beneficiary and Rs.100,000 for a death of a Samurdhi Development Officer (SDOs). This grant will also be available to the beneficiaries and SDOs who died in the recent floods, he said.

Dissanayake said the Ministry has already informed the SDOs to collect the information on each Samurdhi family in his respective area who have been affected by floods. One SDO has died due to floods.

At present, Samurdhi officials are busy collecting information on the affected families with a view bringing their lives back to normal.

Meanwhile, the Samurdhi Social Development Fund will provide assistance to the Samurdhi recipient families to construct houses which have been destroyed by the floods.

In addition, steps will be taken to overcome the shortcomings of the students of Samurdhi families who have faced hardships to conduct their education, he said.

The Minister said the Ministry has given instructions to 1020 Samurdhi banks to collect roofing sheets to be provided to the Samurdhi families whose houses were damaged in the floods.

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