Continuing Sri Lanka’s assistance to Maldives to address the ongoing water crisis in the capital, Male, the Sri Lanka Air Force in a special humanitarian operation today (11 December 2014), transported from Singapore to Maldives, the essential spares and accessories for repair of the desalination facility in Male. Due to the size and dimensions of the cargo, it was not feasible to dispatch the equipment on a commercial flight.  Therefore, acceding to a request from the Government of Maldives, President Mahinda Rajapaksa directed the Sri Lanka Air Force to undertake the transport of the equipment to Maldives on an urgent basis.