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| Thursday, 22 May 2003 |
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| Minister Jayasuriya assures Parliament on relief measures by Our Parliament Correspondents Power and Energy Minister Karu Jayasuriya yesterday assured Parliament that effective measures are being taken to distribute necessary aid and other relief material among the flood affected people in a proper and justifiable manner. Making a special statement in the House, Minister Jayasuriya said the floods had caused havoc in the country over the last few days with the districts namely Kalutara, Ratnapura, Hambantota, Galle and Matara worst affected. Minister Jayasuriya who noted that the country was facing a very crisis situation said specific figures and details on the destruction caused were not yet available." However, effective measures have been taken to provide due relief assistance to the affected people by air and using boats with the support of the three Services and Police." He noted that the Government had taken steps to appoint a committee to coordinate disaster management activities and other emergency measures. " The committee has no political bias and comprises Ministers, Chief Ministers, Opposition members." He stressed that all parties should co-operate to bring normalcy back to the lives of the people affected by the floods. Earlier, Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapakse making a statement in Parliament urged that relief measures should be implemented in a proper manner without causing unnecessary delays. "This is an appropriate time for all the parties to get together and work for the betterment of the affected people to bring normalcy back to their lives. He also called upon the Government to take steps to provide training to the Armed Forces members from expert units in India and China to deal with this kind of crisis situations in the future. JVP Parliamentary Group Leader Wimal Weerawansa said everyone should join hands to ensure the welfare of the flood affected people should be looked into without any discrimination. "While taking steps to provide due relief to the people in a proper manner, attention should be paid to implement a long-term program to prevent this kind of debacles in the future. |
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