23 May 2017 12:00 am Views - 1503
Through generous donations channeled from Dialog subscribers, tripled in value through a donation by Dialog Axiata and further supplemented by support in civil construction services from the tri-forces enabled the handing of the ‘Senehe Siyapatha’ Senehase Gammanaya consisting 30 houses to victims of the Aranayaka landslide, in the Kegalle district.
The homes were ceremoniously handed over by Gayantha Karunathilake, Minister of Parliament Reforms and Mass Media, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Minister of Disaster Management, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, Minister of Power and Renewable Energy, Ruwan Wijewardene, State Minister of Defense, Karunarathna Paranawithana, Deputy Minister of Parliament Reforms and Mass Media, Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi, Secretary, Ministry of Defense, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Regional Chief Executive – South Asia, Axiata Group, Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive, Dialog Axiata PLC, Chandrasiri Bandara, District Secretary/GA, Kagalle District Secretariat, Z. A. M. Faizal, Divisional Secretary of Aranayake,Lalith Dissanayake, Joint Chairman, Coordinating Committee, Aranayaka and Nimal Jayasinghe, Joint Chairman, Coordinating Committee, Aranayaka.
‘Senehe Siyapatha’ is an initiative by the Ministry of Parliament Reforms and Mass Media, Ministry of Defense, Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited and Disaster Management Centre. Work commenced on the third phase with the laying of the foundation stone for the ‘Senehe Siyapatha Gammanaya’ in Aranayake on 29th October last year, to house families displaced by the disaster. The Sri Lanka Army, Navy and Air Force provided civil construction services free-of-charge to build the 30 homes, and the construction was supervised by Sierra Construction, whilst the project was managed by Dialog Axiata PLC.
The houses are constructed as per specifications given by the NBRO (National Building Research Organisation) under the aegis of the Ministry of Disaster Management, a leading research & development institution in the country and a reputed technical services provider in the fields of geotechnical engineering, landslide risk management, human settlements planning, environmental monitoring, building materials research, and engineering project management.
“We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to our customers for supporting families in Aranayaka during the challenging time the country faced last year. The donation amount is a true testament of the generosity of our customers, and we are pleased to have partnered with the Ministry of Parliament Reforms and Mass Media, Ministry of Defense, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited and Disaster Management Centre to have initiated a programme to bring a permanent home to those affected from the disaster,” Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive, Dialog Axiata PLC said.
Dialog Axiata PLC, made an appeal to subscribers to donate Rs. 50 for relief operations via SMS (Short Message Service), Star Points and eZ Cash following the natural disasters. Dialog tripled the donation by adding Rs.100, thereby donating Rs. 150. Customers donated Rs. 15 million to the initiative, whilst Dialog Axiata added Rs. 35million to raise the fund to Rs. 50 million.
Under the first phase of its activity, the ‘Senehe Siyapatha’ initiative donated 50 water pumps worth Rs. 1.6 million to the Disaster Management Centre to aid immediate flood relief efforts.
Whilst under the second phase of its activity, footwear worth over Rs. 11.4 million was distributed to over ten thousand children in 33 schools in Colombo and Gampaha districts. On the third phase Dialog Axiata also provided additional funding to cover rising building material costs.