Rs 88 m spent for flood hit - Fowzie

Irangika RANGE, Sandasen MARASINGHE and Disna MUDALIGE

About Rs 88 million was spent to provide relief to the people affected throughout the country due to the torrential rains, Disaster Management Minister A.H.M. Fowzie told Parliament yesterday.

He was answering a question raised by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake. This money was spent to provide cooked meals and dry rations, to provide assistance for fully damaged and partially damaged houses and for crop damages that are not covered by any insurance scheme and as expenses to people who died from the disaster.

He said the Ministry has been allocated Rs 245.5 million this year for relief work.

"Preventive measures such as cleaning of main canals, removing obstructions and preparing the drain system and widening culverts are to be implemented in the future to prevent floods," Minister Fowzie said.