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True enough. Water donations are also taking place. Ok, compared to the rest of the country, Hambantota remains far from having justified access to water. However, it is much better than a month ago in early August when the Hambantota crisis came to our attention. But although water is now available, are the people able to make maximum use of it? The situation is only marginally better than before since most families are still surviving on several litres of water per week. The Department of the Commissioner General of Samurdhi is providing relief in a completely different manner. A brief assessment of the district revealed the four most affected areas of Hambantota to be Sooriyawawe, Lunugamwehera and Tissamaharama is that one of the main problems still existing is the inability to preserve water. Hence, the Department has decided to provide selected villages with tanks that have the capacity to store 1000 litres of water.“This program will help to solve many of the problems associated with the distribution and preservation of water,” said Dr. Kumari Navaratne, Commissioner General of Samurdhi. “By this method, people will have access to more water, the ability to store larger quantities of water and there will be less wastage in the filling process.” The long-term benefits of this programme focus on the problems that may arise in the aftermath of this crisis. Navaratne said, “In the hype of the moment, most of us focus on the short term relief such as food, but tend to overlook the problems that arise later such as the diseases that will appear, especially among the children, when it does start to rain. Even in that situation, these tanks will help to at least provide clean water to the children.”
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