More rice imports to meet shortage

The Government has instructed the CWE to import more quantities of rice from India or Pakistan to meet a shortage caused by the drought.

Rice imports were allowed due to the shortage but the quantities were found to be insufficient, Government officials said.

The Finance Ministry forecasts that 15 per cent of the paddy harvest will be lost this year.

In the meantime, Sri Lanka is to revise the economic growth rate to around 7.4 per cent from targeted 7.8 per cent if the prevailing drought leads in severe crop failure and power shortages due to drying up of hydro power reservoirs, officials said.

The assessment on damages caused to paddy cultivations and tea plantations has to be carried out to compensate the affected farmers and tea and other crop cultivators but it will not compensate farmers who failed to reduce their crop cultivation by 50 per cent following a Finance Ministry directive fearing crop losses from the drought, they added. Paddy cultivation in Polonnaruwa has been reduced to 135,000 acres from 165,000 acres.

The Treasury has already allocated Rs. 1.9 billion as relief to the affected.

In addition Rs. 3 to 4 billion is to be provided to pay compensation and other drought relief work to be spent after the completion of full assessment of damages.

More than 422,341 families have been affected in Polonnaruwa Moneragala, Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Kurunegala, Hambantota, and Mullaithivu, according to official estimates.