Rs. 150m to Sevana Fund from Padova City Council Italy

The Padova City Council in Italy has donated Rs. 150 million to Sevana fund to construct houses to families who were displaced by the recent tsunami. This donation has been facilitated by Athula Thevarathanthri, a Sri Lankan national, who is a representative in the City Council.

The National Housing Development Authority (NHDA), under its 'Siyathena' Housing Programme, utilizing these funds for tsunami victims, inaugurated a 30 houses project at Thotamune in Matara for the displaced families in the area. The houses are to be built as two storeyed structures in keeping with a construction methodology resistant to national disasters with the active participation of beneficiary community through their skills and labour.

Minister of Housing and Construction Industry, Eastern Province Education and Irrigation Development, Ms. Ferial Ashraff who inaugurated this project recently said, "As tsunami was an unforeseen and unprecedented disaster we were caught unawares. In this gigantic task of re-housing the victims who number about 100,000 of families islandwide, certain delays and shortcomings are inevitable. We are striving to rebuild everything except the lost lives.

The 'Siyathena' programme being implemented in Matara district has been so successful, the Padova City Council of Italy too has extended its helping hands to us for which we are grateful to them.

This programme can be identified as a multilateral effort by the NHDA, donors, allied governmental institutions and the beneficiary community itself."

Deputy Minister of Housing and Construction Industry, Eastern Province Education and Irrigation Development, Chandrasiri Gajadeera also addressed the gathering, while Secretary of Housing Ministry, Mallika Karunaratne, additional Secretaries, U.A. Seneviratne and P.W. Koddippili, Chairman of Building Materials Corporation, Lalith Andrahennadi, Chairman of State Engineering Corporation, Gracien Peiris, Chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation Bank, S.M.M. Yaseen, General Manager of NHDA, Piyal Ganepola and several Provincial Councillors and Pradeshiya Sabha members participated.