Sri Lanka thanks Bangladesh for relief materials

Sri Lanka has thanked Bangladesh for standing beside the country with “very appropriate” relief materials in the wake of a devastating flood and landslide.

Bangladesh Air Force’s special flight C-130 carrying the first consignment of relief materials reached Sri Lanka Air Force Base Katunayake near Colombo on Friday afternoon, the Bangladesh High Commission said.

High Commissioner Tarik Ahsan formally handed over the material to Sri Lanka’s Secretary for Disaster Management SS Miyanawala in a simple ceremony at the airport.

The Secretary “warmly thanked” the Bangladesh government for sending the relief materials, and said the “well-chosen relief items were very appropriate for the flood victims of Sri Lanka”.

At Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s instruction, the government has decided to send Tk100 million worth of relief materials to help Sri Lanka tackle the situation arising from the floods and landslides of unprecedented scale since May 18.

The first consignment contained about 9 tons of relief materials including tents, bottled water, water purifiers, generators, torch lights, mosquito nets, rain coats, and clothes.

The government said more consignments based on Sri Lanka’s requirement would be sent in the next few days.

Bangladesh showed this gesture at a time when the country itself was recovering from cyclone ‘Roanu’.

The high commissioner said this demonstrated “a special affinity that Bangladesh has for the brotherly and sisterly people of Sri Lanka.”

The prime minister also sent a condolence message to President Maithripala Sirisena on the loss of lives, property and displacement of people.