Rs.50 m for flood relief

MOHAMMED NAALIR

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reserved Rs. 50 million to carry out relief work in flood affected districts, Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services Minister Rishad Badiudeen said yesterday.

Addressing the media at his Ministry, Minister Badiudeen said that 54,841 families numbering 209,038 persons have been affected in Ampara, Badulla, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Polonnaruwa, Ratnapura and Anuradhapura districts.

He said 8,072 families numbering 31,215 persons have been housed in 49 IDP camps. One casualty from Ratnapura district and one injured person from Polonnaruwa district and three injured persons from Ratnapura district have been reported.

He said that the officers attached to his Ministry are engaged in relief work round the clock to assist the flood victims.

Altogether 89 houses fully damaged houses and 2,374 partly damaged houses have been reported in above mentioned districts.

Minister Badiudeen further said that Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, and Ampara were the districts mostly affected by the prevailing rainy wether.Rupees 5 million to Ampara district, Rs. 2 million to Badulla district, Rs. 10 million to Batticaloa district, Rs. 3 million to Jaffna district, Rs. 2 million to Mullaitivu district, Rs. 2 million to Kilinochchi district, Rs. 5 million to Polonnaruwa district, Rs. 3 million to Anuradhapura district have been allocated.

Minister Badiudeen said District Secretaries and Divisional Secretaries have been directed to allocate cooked meals to the flood victims.Compensation for a fully damaged house is Rs. 50,000 and the compensation for partly damaged houses will be determined upon estimation of the damage.