Sri Lanka announces raft of relief for Ditwah-affected; Prez says life restored to normalcy

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Saturday said his government has been able to restore public life to normalcy within a very short period after Cyclone Ditwah devastated the island nation and took over 600 lives.

Dissanayake's claim came a day after he announced a massive relief package to all those affected by Cyclone Ditwah and requested the IMF for an additional USD 200 million to meet excess expenditure to cope up with the disaster.

The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Colombo office on Saturday said the request would be considered at the global lender’s executive board on December 15.

The island nation has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse following Cyclone Ditwah, which has also acutely strained the country's disaster-response capacity.

As many as 611 people had died and over 200 remained missing even as search operations for those buried under landslides continued a week after the cyclone struck the country.

Data from the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), as of Saturday evening, showed 1,14,126 persons from at least 33,622 families have taken refuge at 956 shelters.

Dissanayake visited the central district of Kandy, which was the worst hit by the disaster with 232 deaths and 81 disappearances as of Saturday and also tops the list for the number of houses destroyed totally and partially.

Although some expected it would take a long time for the country to recover after the Ditwah cyclone disaster, the government has already been able to restore public life to normalcy within a very short period, Dissanayake said at Kandy.

Dissanayake visited one of the relief camps in Kandy and spoke with the survivors and the displaced.

He also reviewed the progress of the rapid programmes underway to restore essential infrastructure in the district, including the highway network, electricity, water and fuel supply, irrigation systems and communication facilities.

The president also instructed that water supply in the district be fully restored within three days and gave a December 31 deadline for restoring the electricity supply in the district.

Earlier on Friday, Dissanayake, who is also the Minister of Finance, told the parliament that the maximum amount of grant is to be given to the families of those who lost their lives and to the cyclone-hit agri-land holders.

He announced LKR 1 million for each life lost and LKRs 1,50,000 per hectare for replanting paddy and other grains affected among other grants for several sectors.

Announcing the formation of a National Task Force for Reconstruction, the president also announced a one off grant of LKR 50,000 for purchasing essential household items for homes destroyed; a LKR 25,000 monthly allowance for three months for families leaving evacuation centres to rent alternative housing; LKR 2,00,000 grant to restart registered livestock farms destroyed by the disaster, and LKR 4,00,000 compensation for each registered fishing boat completely damaged.

He also announced LKR 5 million grant to construct a new house for fully destroyed homes, and LKR 5 million grant for land acquisition to rebuild homes lost to disaster.

The Central Bank too on Friday announced temporary debt relief for businesses affected with new loan facilities for the affected borrowers.

Meanwhile, an IMF representative in Sri Lanka on Saturday said that the island nation’s request for additional USD 200 million outside the USD 340 million due as the sixth tranche of the IMF bail out “would be considered” by the global lender’s executive board on December 15.

Evan Papageorgiou, IMF Mission Chief for Sri Lanka, in a statement acknowledged the scale of destruction in the wake of the devastating impact and widespread destruction caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

“The Sri Lankan government has formally requested approximately USD 200 million under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) — equivalent to 26 percent of the country’s quota. This request is currently under consideration and subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board,” the statement said.