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Govt seeks international assistance to face prevailing drought
 The Government is seeking international assistance to face the prevailing drought situation.
Appeals have already been made to the World Food Programme (WFP) to provide relief for distribution among those in badly affected areas, and to the UNICEF and foreign nations to purify seawater to overcome the potable water shortage.
The decision to seek such assistance has been prompted by concerns that, if inter-monsoonal rains are not experienced within the next three months, reservoirs at Labugama and Kalatuwawa would dry up completely. Already, water levels in these reservoirs have dropped by more than 60%, officials said.
Water Board Chairman Kudoos Alahudeen Ansar told the Sunday Times they would be using 5-10 litre-capacity bags of water, to supply the public, free of charge. “Currently, we have identified Kandy, Ampara, Polonnaruwa and Hambantota as Districts currently facing a severe potable water problem,” he stated, adding that, they intend repairing 1,000 existing tube wells and build another 450 new tube wells.
President Maithripala Sirisena this week, also appointed a Presidential Task Force to provide relief to people affected by the drought. The decision to appoint a task force was made during consultations held at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday, to discuss challenges posed by the drought situation. (See page 12 for related stories )