Minister of Relief Services Rishad Badiudeen announced yesterday (04th) that steps have been taken to provide more relief to those affected by floods. The Government has set apart Rs. 50 million to execute immediate flood relief work in the affected districts, he said.
Twenty deaths have been reported so far with some person missing. A total of 91,976 families and over 400,000 people have been rendered homeless. The displaced persons have been housed in 116 welfare camps, schools, religious places, and other public buildings, until floods recede, according to ministry sources.
The Disaster Relief Services Ministry has allocated Rs 29 million for flood-stricken areas. Accordingly Rs 2 million has been allocated to Colombo, Rs 2 million to the Galle District, Rs 1 million to Nuwara Eliya District, and Rs 12 million to Ratnapura District so far.
A further sum of Rs 2 million each to Colombo, Ratnapura and Galle District s, Rs 1 million to Matara have also been allocated to above stated areas.
Government also undertook to meet the funeral expenses of those who lost their lives tragically.
As water borne diseases pose a major problem the Japan International Cooporation Agency (JICA) has donated a water purifying machine worth Rs 17 million to flood affected areas.