23rd September 2016 23:33:35 Hours
Sri Lanka Army-built 75 new houses in Makaldeniya, close to Diyaluma for the displaced in the Meeriyabedda landslide tragedy on 29 October 2014 are to be vested in the recipients before ‘Deepavali’ on 29 October 2016, it was announced during a recent progress review meeting.
The decision to open these new houses was announced at the project site in the presence of Hon. Ministers Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, P. Digambaram, Major General (retd) L.B.R Mark, Director General, Disaster Management Centre, Brigadier C.S Etipola, Senior Project Coordinator and several other officials of the Water Board, Ceylon Electricity Board and Divisional Secretariat.
Soon after the tragedy, the Army was requested to undertake the construction of those houses for the victims in close coordination with relevant authorities.
Lieutenant General Crishanthe De Silva, Commander of the Army, taking a very close evaluation of the ground realities, having paid a visit to the tragedy-struck site, instructed the Security Force Headquarters - Central (SFHQ-C) to undertake the task of building those new houses in a state land, provided by the government.
Accordingly, Army Engineer troops and members of the Corps of Engineer Services on 1 May 2015 began the construction of those 75 new houses with the raw material support, received from relevant state authorities under the supervision of the Disaster Management Centre and respective Ministries.
During the progress review meeting, decisions were made to complete the provision of electricity and water to those houses and construction of a preventive electric fence around the housing complex to ward off wild elephants roaming in adjacent Wellawaya and Koslanda areas.
