President vows to intervene and disburse funds to flood victims

President Maithripala Sirisena today (Sept 24) said that he would intervene to disburse the required funds from the Treasury to provide relief for those affected by the inclement weather.

Speaking at a meeting with disaster management and security officials, the President, who heads the Defence Ministry, had instructed to obtain the assistance of tri-forces to evacuate people from areas facing risks of landslides.

While urging that the process of providing relief should be expedited, Mr. Sirisena had stated that the allocation of funds should not be made an issue and that the required funds could be obtained from the Finance Ministry.

The Disaster Management Ministry, during the meeting had said that, clean drinking water has been continuously supplied to 15 districts which had been affected by the drought recently.

The President had pointed out that adequate measures should be taken to prepare for any weather-related emergency since weather forecasts have predicted that the South-West monsoonal rains would continue for the next two months.

He had also stated that steps should be taken to ensure that the upcoming presidential elections be held without any disruptions by the weather.

Disaster Management Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Defence Secretary Gen. Shantha Kottegoda, Chief-of-Defence Staff Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, Commanders of the Tri-Forces, and Acting Police Chief Chandana Wickramaratne attended the meeting.

According to the Disaster Management Centre, 5539 people belonging to 1475 families have been affected due to flooding in the Galle and Matara districts.