Commander Shares Meals with Rescue & Relief Troops

Hundreds of Army troops, currently engaged in the arduous task of clearing debris in search of any survivors or victims in the Meetotamulla garbage dump tragedy, received a morale boost this afternoon (17) when Lieutenant General Crisanthe De Silva, Commander of the Army mingled with them and sat for a meal in the company of his soldiers while work was on.

Since the Day-1 of the tragedy, Lieutenant General Crisanthe De Silva sharing his concern and sensitivity to the developments in the location has on a number of occasions visited there and attended to all emergency requirements and other technical support in close liaison with sister services, Police, Special Task Force (STF) and the Disaster Management Centre (DMC).

His presence and also the close interaction he has had with tirelessly committed Army rescue teams enabled the Commander to get a firsthand experience as regards ground realities and the gravity of the predicament, in which a total of 30 lives had been lost as of Monday (17) evening.

The Commander during his stay in the area spoke to a large section of troops and exchange views with them on possible acceleration of ongoing rescue and relief measures.

Highly motivated troops made use of the occasion and briefed the Commander on their impromptu execution plan for the next couple of hours as hopes for recovery of any more survivors were getting dim.

Major General Dananjith Karunarathne, Chief Field Engineer, Major General Ralph Nugera, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 14 Division who is also sphereheading relief operations and Brigadier Amith Senevirathne, Engineer Brigade Commander were also at hand during the Commander's stay in the effected area.