Flood ravaged areas will be rebuilt - President

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that the Government is fully committed to rebuild the lives and infrastructure devastated by the floods.

President Rajapaksa said the officials have been instructed to commence reconstruction works and provide relief to the people in affected districts.

The President was speaking at the inauguration of the Diri Uda program to provide free school bags and stationery to Grade One schoolchildren in the Kalutara district.

More than 19,500 new school entrants in the district will benefit by this program which is entirely funded by Transport Minister Kumara Welgama.

President Rajapaksa presented school bags and stationery to students representing several schools in the Matugama Educational Zone to mark the inauguration of the program. The President admitted that more than one million people in the North Central, Eastern, Central and Uva provinces were affected by the floods and landslides and stressed an effective plan is in place to assist them.

“The estimated cost for the restoration of infrastructure facilities ravaged by the floods has been estimated at Rs 33,000 million and the Government has already instructed the officials to commence reconstruction projects,” he added.

He said the people whose livelihood was affected due to the floods can participate in the reconstruction activities as they do not have a proper income.

President Rajapaksa yesterday said some segments of are making futile efforts to create opinion among the people that devastation caused by the floods and landslides in certain regions was due to the ruler. CP