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| Sunday, 2 January 2005 |
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Presidential Committee calls for reports of damage by Gamini Warushamana Government's attention has been drawn to evacuate people from coastal belt and provide high elevation government lands for new residential areas.Displaced people will be resettled in houses to be constructed in these areas. Government has also decided to construct flats for the people displaced and the construction will be carried out by the State Engineering Corporation. In the future costal belt will be reserved for tourism and permission will only be given to construct hotels, said Deputy Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.Priority has been given to construct houses, highways, electricity, hospitals, schools, fisheries harbours, telecommunication facilities and railways. Presidential Committee appointed to coordinate the construction has given instructions to submit reports of all damages and construction plans by January 15 and the constructions will commence thereafter. Meanwhile, France has agreed to provide financial and technical assistance to re-construct the Southern railway. Economists have forecast that the economic cost of the tidal wave would be between 0.75%-1.0% decline of the GDP growth rate in 2005. Tidal wave has caused severe damages to the country's tourism and fisheries industries which contribute 4% to the GDP. Agricultural sector has also been affected and major damages are to paddy and onion cultivations and arable lands that have been polluted by salt water. Central Bank is now calculating the total economic cost of the destruction. |
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