Government of India had made a commitment to provide emergency humanitarian assistance worth SLR 5 million, following the devastating landslide that occurred on October 29, 2014 in Haldummula Division of Badulla district in Uva Province. In pursuance of this, A. Natarajan, Assistant High Commissioner of India in Kandy handed over relief goods, on behalf of the High Commissioner of India, to Hon’ble C. Nanda Mathew, Governor of Uva Province, on November 10, 2014 at the Governor’s Office in Badulla. Shashindra Kumara Rajapakshe, Chief Minister of Uva Province, Hon’ble Senthil Thondaman, Estate Infrastructure Development Minister of Uva Province, P. B. Amarasekara, Chief Secretary of the Uva Province and Rohana Dissanayake, Government Agent, Badulla were present at the occasion.
The relief goods have been identified in coordination with the Government of Sri Lanka and procured locally in Sri Lanka. The items include large and small generators, water pumps, tractor, chainsaws, concrete power saws, canvas water hose and aluminum cookware, among others.
In addition to addressing the immediate needs of the affected people, the Government of India has also committed, as part of its housing project in the estates, to construct houses in some landslide prone estates from where people have been evacuated.(KH)
