Colombo fails to provide resettlement assistance to N-E families

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 January 2011, 14:59 GMT]
Majority of resettled families in the North and East have been waiting for the promised resettlement assistance from the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). According to reports compiled by the authorities concerned that not every family has received assistance as promised. Under the resettlement package each family is entitled to a cash grant Rs.5000, Bank of Ceylon grant of Rs.20,000 and agricultural implements, kitchen utensils, bags of cement roofing sheets and tarpaulin. Each family is also promised a set of non-food items.

According to initial investigation about 43,182 families have not received the Rs. 5000 cash grant, while 64,327 have not received the Bank of Ceylon grant. About 36,000 families have not yet received their non food item kits. 71,006 families have not received roofing sheets.

Meanwhile, heavy flooding, particularly in the East, has led to even more resettled families being displaced and needing assistance.

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