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Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - 5.50 GMT |
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Sri Lanka donates US $ 50,000 for Bihar
flood relief |
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The Government of Sri Lanka has made a
donation of Indian Rs. 2,225,560 (US dollars
50,000) to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund
set up on behalf of the flood victims in the
Indian State of Bihar. The cheque for this
amount was handed over by the High
Commissioner of Sri Lanka in India, Romesh
Jayasinghe, to the Resident Commissioner of
Bihar in New Delhi, Shri C.K. Mishra on 12th
September 2008, said a press release issued
by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on
September 16.
It is estimated that well over 2 million
people have either been displaced, or
suffered some grave damage to their
livelihoods due to heavy floods in the state
of Bihar, India.
Speaking on the occasion of handing over the
cheque, High Commissioner Jayasinghe stated
that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had written
to Indian Prime Minister, Dr.Manmohan Singh
in the previous week, expressing the deep
sorrow of the Government and people of Sri
Lanka on the loss of lives and suffering
caused by the severe floods. The President
in his letter had also recalled that Bihar
is familiar to the people of Sri Lanka,
since every year tens of thousands of
Buddhist pilgrims visit the State to pay
homage to the sacred land, where the Lord
Buddha attained enlightenment.
The High Commissioner further observed that
Sri Lanka herself has been a victim of a
natural disaster, namely the Asian tsunami
in December 2004. The people of Sri Lanka
recall with deep appreciation the immediate
and generous assistance offered by India at
that time. He expressed the hope that the
dedicated efforts of the Union authorities
and of the State Government, would result in
an early return to normalcy in Bihar.
The Resident Commissioner Shri C.K. Mishra
in response conveyed the sincere
appreciation of the Bihar State authorities,
for the gesture of support and solidarity by
the Government and people of Sri Lanka.
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