President approves funds for disaster-affected house repairs

Colombo, June 25 (Daily Mirror) - The President approved the required financial allocations to compensate and assist disaster-affected individuals in repairing their damaged houses.

State Defence Minister Premitha Bandara Tennakoon presided over a discussion to look into the measures to be taken to provide relief to people whose houses were damaged in the recent floods.

Required funds have already been allocated from the Treasury, and it is planned to distribute these funds through District and Divisional Secretariats, the State Minister said. 

It has been proposed to provide Rs. 2.5 million for each totally damaged house and also to obtain services from the armed forces for the reconstruction work, which will avoid the difficulties in obtaining necessary labour, he said.

Discussion with state officials also focused on the possible practical issues that may arise during this process and countermeasures to be taken. 

Accordingly, the Minister also said that the cooperation of all public service officers, including Grama Niladharis, Development Officers, Agricultural Officers and Disaster Relief Officers, is essential for this process.