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Flood-hit people in inaccessible areas blame Government
View(s):Flood-affected people marooned in unreachable areas complain that flood aid is being distributed haphazardly and that the Government has failed to respon to the disaster with timely relief.
These victims say aid and financial assistance are being handed out to displaced people sheltered in camps along the main roads, while destitute families and individuals in remote areas are neglected.
Fifty-two-year old flood victim Seetha Padmini, a resident of Kelanimulla, said she and her family moved into the nearby temple but hardly any people visited them with food or other relief items. “Officials simply tell us not to stay but where can we go?” she asked.
When no government relief came for three days, desperate residents in some remote areas decided to form into groups to help each other. S. Sampath, 35, said, “We did not have enough food and we could only give two packets of rice to each family. The government was not to be seen there.”
A trustee of the Kithsiri Mewan Rajamaha Vihara said some 50 persons had sought refuge in the temple premises and they were doing everything possible to help them.
Sri Lanka Red Cross Society Senior Communications Manager Mahesh Johnny said their branch networks had been providing relief and humanitarian support from the onset of the emergency.
He said Red Cross disaster-response teams were sent to the Puttalam, Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, Gampaha, Vavuniya, Galle, Kegalle, Anuradhapura, Matale and Mannar Districts to obtain information about the affected people and provide aid.
He said they distributed tarpaulins, hygiene kits and bed sheets. “Our volunteers also assisted in the distribution of cooked food and packets of milk powder to the people housed in the camps.”