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Sri Lanka Army

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President Rajapaksa Consoles Flood Victims in Anuradhapura

With a view to receiving first-hand assessment of the impact of the ravaging floods in Anuradhapura district, HE the President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited Rambewa area Wednesday (9) morning and met a cross section of affected people in relief centres.

Governor for Northern Province, Chief Minister for North Central Province, Minister Tissa Karaliyadda, Deputy Minister of Irrigation W.B Ekanayaka, Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, District Secretary for Anuradhapura and several state officials received the visiting President Rajapaksa on arrival at Rambewa.

President Rajapaksa after meeting flood victims of 607 families, housed at Rambewa Buddhist Center and Temple, managed by Ven. Bambaravane Rathanasiri Thero, spoke to them and distributed a large stock of mosquito nets, baby food items, mats, dry ration packets and other essentials among the displaced.

Rambewa area with 38 Grama Seva Divisions was one of the worst hit due to floods. More than 34 Divisions still remain under water forcing civilians to find alternative dwellings. All those affected people have been directed to ten alternative places by the Army as flood water levels rose. A total of 154 houses in Rambewa area had been completely destroyed in the ravaging floods while another 360 houses remain partly damaged.

President Rajapaksa during his stay with the flood victims instructed senior state officials present at the venue to provide maximum benefits of the relief programmes to the masses since the Presidential Task Force has now gone into action with regard to their needs. He also asked officials to hand over reconstruction work to the villagers themselves after the situation improves, so that a fair sum of money could be saved for the benefit of other work in the village.

Afterwards, President Rajapaksa met state officials in Anuradhapura at the Bank of Ceylon auditorium and discussed emergency relief services in swing in the district.

Meanwhile, President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the company of the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya took time off to visit the ‘Lakviru Seya’ site in progress at Anuradhapura towards the latter part of the day. The construction of this monumental reverence in the district is being pursued by Army troops of the Corps of Engineer Services (CES).