🏠 President Orders Urgent Resettlement for Nuwara Eliya Cyclone Victims

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has directed an immediate acceleration of resettlement efforts for families displaced by Cyclone Ditwah in the Nuwara Eliya District, prioritizing estate workers currently living in temporary shelters. Impact Summary (Provisional Data): • Human Cost: 93 confirmed deaths in the district. • Displacement: 61,833 people (18,266 families) affected across all 10 Divisional Secretariats. • Housing Destruction: 2,240 houses completely destroyed (675 estate houses; 1,565 village houses). • Partial Damage: 765 houses partially damaged (612 estate houses; 153 village houses). Key Directives & Recovery: • Relocation: Prioritizing the relocation of residents currently in tents due to monsoon weather. • Land Allocation: Expedited identification of land for permanent housing and immediate construction of temporary shelters. • Fiscal Discipline: The President emphasized managing recovery funds transparently to maintain national economic stability and avoid fiscal slippage. • Compensation: Ongoing review of payments for loss of life, property, and business/livelihood restoration. The disaster is cited as one of the largest in recent history, significantly impacting the plantation sector and regional labor productivity. 📉