Ground Troops Still Active in Healing Roles

A considerable group of Army troops, still continuing with their remaining flood relief roles in some of the worst-affected areas with the support of the Security Force Headquarters - West (SFHQ-West) and the 58 Division Headquarters during the weekend (10 - 11) organized an all-night Pirith chanting and offer of alms (Heel Daanaya) to members of the Maha Sangha at Morawaka Keerthi Abeywickrama Maha Vidyalaya, intending to transfer merits on the dead in recent landslides and invoke blessings on all the affected.

3 (V) Gemunu Watch (GW) troops of the 581 Brigade of the 58 Division of the SFHQ-West, voluntarily came forward and organized the overnight chanting ceremony, inviting next of kin of all dead victims and those badly affected in the area to the school premises with the objective of remembering all who perished in the landslides and other victims at spiritual level.

In support of the meritorious event at Morawaka, members of the School of Military Engineers at Embilipitiya prepared meals for over 1,000 devotees and other preparations by way of refreshments, etc throughout the night.

General Officer Commanding (GOC), 58 Division accompanied by 581 Brigade Commander, 3 (V) GW Commanding Officer and several Senior Officers were present at those religious observances at Morawaka.

Ground troops meanwhile, taking another initiative distributed a large stock of essentials, including pillows, mattresses, mats, brooms, basins, sarees school books, school accessories among flood-affected victims at Pitabeddara W. Senanayake Maha Vidyalaya.

Those relief items were brought down from Kankesanthurai in the ‘Purawesi Athwela Manushshathwaye Dumriya’ (Kankesanthurai - Matara train), for which project the Army lent its support by way of transporting those stocks to designated locations in coordination with donors and organizers. Troops also took time to clean some of the buildings in the same Pitabeddara school and conduct a mobile medical clinic where affected civilians were examined and prescribed medicine.

Again, the troops of the 16 (V) Gemunu Watch (GW) launched a cleaning programme and a re-painting project at Mallika Navodya Vidyalaya in Hiniduma where the school’s three-storied building had been severely affected in the recent flooding. The programme got underway on Sunday (11) at the request of school authorities to the General Officer Commanding, 58 Division who subsequently instructed 16 (V) GW troops to undertake this project.

Army troops of the Security Force Headquarters - West (SFHQ-West), 14 Division Headquarters, 58 Division Headquarters, 142 Brigade, 581 Brigade, and 583 Brigade as at present, together with different relief aid workers, including Navy and Air Force troops, are providing all possible assistance to the displaced, housed temporarily in relief centres, temples, schools, mosques, community halls, factories, public health centres, etc in Colombo, Gampaha, Galle, Matara, Kalutara, Kegalle and Ratnapura Districts.

The Senior Officer, in charge of overall rescue and relief operations, Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe, Commander, Security Forces – West, keeping a close watch on ongoing relief work and other requirements, visited several worst-affected areas during the weekend and inquired into the well-being of the of his troops and their available facilities on the instructions of the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Crisanthe De Silva.

A fleet of heavy vehicles and machinery, including unibuffles, iron horses (heavy carriages), gully bowsers and water pumps of the Army are still at work in specific devastated areas as repair works are in full swing.

Similarly, six Army medical teams, dispatched by the Director General Army Health Services to worst-affected areas on the instructions of the Commander of the Army, are still continuing their services in respective temporary shelters. Those six medical teams, comprised of medical officers, nurses, paramedics and ambulances are busy attending to the health needs of those inmates.