Ministry cancels event, dedicates allocated funds to flood victims

The Mahaweli Development and Environment Ministry said it would cancel this year’s World Environment Day ceremony to be held on June 5 and utilize the allocated funds to provide relief to those who were affected by the inclement weather.

This was revealed by Mahaweli Development and Environment Deputy Minister Anuradha Jayaratne who chaired a meeting at the Kalutara District Secretariat yesterday to discuss about the measures that needed to be taken to expedite relief operations in flood and landslide stricken areas.

Kalutara District Secretary, Divisional Secretaries, Police, Army, Air Force personnel and other state officials took part in the meeting.

Deputy Minister Jayaratne said steps would be taken to deploy about 2,000 people on World’s Environment Day to clean the houses of the affected and the surroundings in Kalutara.

Meanwhile, dry rations and other relief goods worth Rs.10 million were collected with the contribution of the officials of the Ministry, its institutions, the Mahaweli Authority and Mahaweli Land Holders’ and Farmers’ Associations.

The collected relief goods were handed over to the Divisional Secretaries of Dodangoda, Ingiriya, Salinda Nuwara and Bulathsinhala by the Deputy Minister to be distributed among the affected people.