Norwegian Govt. donates Rs.95m to flood relief

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 May 2003, 13:26 GMT]
After accompanying the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on his tour to flood affected Ratnapura and Matara, the Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen and Ambassador Hans Brattskar announced that the Norwegian Government has decided to donate Rs.95m for emergency flood relief, a press release from the Norwegian embassy in Colombo said today.

Full text of the press release follows:

Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen and Ambassador Hans Brattskar accompanied Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on his tour to the flood affected areas Sunday 18 May. The Deputy Minister visited Ratnapura and Matare districts and was struck by the devastation and the suffering of the people in these areas.

"I was very moved by witnessing the scope of the flood disaster and the plight of the flood victims. It was terrible to see the enormous damage caused by the flash floods and the great suffering it has inflicted on the people in the affected areas. I therefore promised that Norway will quickly give a helping hand to the flood victims", said Deputy Foreign Minister Helgesen who has background from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and has long experience with relief work after natural disasters.

The Norwegian Government has therefore on Monday 19 May decided to give Rs. 95 mill in emergency relief for aid to the flood affected areas in the South. The funds will be channelled through Sri Lanka Red Cross and UN agencies.