The government will begin building interim shelters for approximately 1,000 people displaced by Cyclone Ditwah from the first week of May, with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) handling engineering and construction work.
A coordination meeting was held at Army Headquarters under the patronage of Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd) to review progress and expedite implementation across the worst-affected districts of Kegalle, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Badulla, the Ministry of Defence said.
The Deputy Minister directed the Army to submit a detailed implementation plan with a clear time schedule to ensure timely completion of the shelter projects, which are being delivered under the government’s “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” programme.
Identification of suitable construction land is currently under way with the assistance of District Secretaries and the National Building Research Institute (NBRI), to ensure that all sites comply with safety standards. The Deputy Minister stressed the importance of maintaining transparency, accountability and quality assurance, and of enhancing coordination among stakeholders to avoid delays.
The meeting was attended by the Commander of the Army, senior Ministry officials, and representatives from the Disaster Management Division, the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA), the NBRI, and other relevant agencies.
The interim shelter programme runs alongside the wider Cyclone Ditwah recovery effort. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has set an end-May deadline for Rs. 500,000 partial-damage compensation payments to reach all eligible beneficiaries, while Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya is leading a separate task force on housing payments. Cyclone Ditwah killed 646 people and caused USD 4.1 billion in damage when it struck in November 2025.
Source: Ada Derana.
