Joint committee formed for Sri Lanka’s post-Ditwah reconstruction

A joint committee comprising Sri Lankan and Indian officials will be delegated the responsibility of handling New Delhi’s post-Ditwah disaster reconstruction package to the island nation, a media report. The package was announced by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who visited Colombo last week as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special envoy and assured New Delhi’s steadfast commitment to Colombo’s rebuilding post-cyclone that led to the death of over 600 people.

Of the total package worth $450 million, $350 million is concessional Lines of Credit and $100 million would be in grants. The joint committee would decide on reconstruction projects to be carried out, purchases to be made under the Indian credit line and deployment of manpower from India to expedite projects, a senior official . The joint committee will work under three time frames of three, six and nine months to complete the projects, it said.

The works would be carried out under five different categories – road and railway, health and education, housing, agriculture and establishment of an immediate disaster response team. Indian teams, including technical support, will be involved in reconstruction projects related to housing, medical, education, railway and road construction. The Indian High Commission will coordinate with respective officials in conducting the meetings and reviewing the progress, the newspaper said.

The Indian Government will assist in establishing an Immediate Disaster Response Team similar to the one in India, spearheaded by the National Disaster Response Force, providing all the required equipment and technical support. Widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse across the island nation severely strained the country’s disaster-response capacity in the wake of the Cyclone Ditwah that hit Sri Lanka in November last week.

It damaged crops, tea estates and critical transport infrastructures, including roads and bridges. With Operation Sagar Bandhu, India was the first country to respond when Colombo called for international assistance in the aftermath of the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.  Since the launch of Op Sagar Bandhu on November 28, India has provided over 1,134 tonnes of humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, clothing, water purification systems, and 14.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment.

Indian Air Force and Navy helicopters evacuated survivors, transported troops, and delivered relief supplies-reflecting India’s steadfast commitment to Sri Lanka during a time of crisis. As of December 28, as many as 638 people have died and 175 are still missing since November 16, as landslides, floods and rainfall caused widespread destruction, data from the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) in Colombo showed. While 6,121 houses were fully damaged, 1,14,314 houses were damaged partially, the DMC added. Of the Total package worth $450m, $350m is concessional Lines of Credit and $100m would be in grants.