India to stand by cyclone-hit Sri Lanka on road to recovery: Envoy

Colombo, Dec 13 (PTI) India will stand by Sri Lanka during the relief, recovery, and long-term rehabilitation efforts in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, the Indian envoy here said during a visit to one of the hardest-hit areas in the island nation's central province.

Widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse isolated several districts in Sri Lanka and severely strained the country's disaster-response capacity since mid-November.

Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha on Friday visited the Nelummala village in the Kandy district, where a landslide destroyed 13 houses, killing 13 people and leaving eight people missing.

Jha condoled the tragedy and conveyed deep sympathy and solidarity with those affected.

Recalling India's strong commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with Sri Lanka in its times of need, he reiterated that New Delhi is providing swift and multidimensional assistance in the wake of the cyclone.

India was the first country to respond to Sri Lanka’s international appeal for assistance under its Operation Sagar Bandhu.

According to the disaster management centre, the district of Kandy has the highest number of deaths at 234, with 82 people missing out of the national cumulative figures of 640 dead and 194 missing at 4.30 pm on Saturday.

Commenting on the progress of the recovery, top finance bureaucrat Harshana Suriyapperuma told reporters that over SLR 13 billion has been disbursed for the recovery effort. PTI CORR GRS GRS GRS