Temporary houses built for 35 families displaced by Cyclone Ditwah were formally handed over in Nuwara Eliya on Wednesday.
The families are from the Unique View area of Nuwara Eliya, one of the upcountry settlements worst affected when the cyclone struck. The housing units were constructed on a site near the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council sports ground.
Nuwara Eliya Mayor Upali Wanigasekara and Nuwara Eliya District Secretary Thushari Tennakoon presided over the handover.
A recovery still running months on
The handover is one of the more concrete steps in a reconstruction effort that has stretched well past the emergency phase. The government’s Ditwah response has moved through a second extension of the state of emergency, a compensation deadline set for the end of May, and the closure of the United Nations’ emergency response operation in June.
Financing for the rebuilding is now being drawn from external support. India and Sri Lanka exchanged agreements this week for a US$350 million line of credit earmarked for Ditwah reconstruction, part of a broader US$450 million assistance package extended after the cyclone.
Nuwara Eliya district has been under sustained pressure since. District Secretary Tennakoon has been the lead official through the recent southwest monsoon flooding and landslides that have hit the same upcountry divisions over the past week.
Sources: Hiru News.
