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| Sunday, 18 December 2005 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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More boats and fishing gear for tsunami victims The single largest donation of fishing gear valued at Rs 22 million under the NDB Fishermen's Relief Trust Fund was handed over to 122 fishermen at Matara. This donation will benefit 366 tsunami affected families in the Galle and Matara districts bringing the total number of families helped by the Fund to 1857 in areas hit by the tsunami in the South and the East. The NDB Fund, set up to help the tsunami affected fisherfolk, has presented boats and canoes as well as engines and nets to the tune of Rs 73 million. Another nearly three million rupees has been spent to repair boats and engines. The Fund was set up immediately after the tsunami with a seed capital of Rs 10 million by the NDB Bank with a target of Rs 100 million. "The response has been most encouraging and we reached our target quite comfortably from local and foreign donors, "said Ravindra Ranjith, NDB Bank's Assistant Vice President-Auto Finance who coordinated the project as head of the Relief Fund Committee. The NDB Bank contributed another Rs 10 million as the project progressed. Discussing the progress of the project, he explained that at the initial stage, there was considerable difficulty in getting the required material, particularly fishing boats. The demand was so great that the suppliers could not meet the demand. "In fact, we launched a program to help small-time entrepreneurs to set up boatyards. In Trincomalee, for example, we selected a person who was repairing boats to expand. Facilities were given and when we placed a firm order, he was able to set up the boatyard without any problem. Today his is a thriving business. Similarly a person from Matara was helped to set up a boatyard at Ampara, "he said. |
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