Indian envoy discusses reconstruction needs with Sri Lanka's Housing Minister after Cyclone Ditwah

Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha met Sri Lanka's Housing and Construction minister to discuss reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts following Cyclone Ditwah, which has killed 486 people so far in the island nation.

Jha's meeting with Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply Susil Ranasinghe took place as Sri Lanka is grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.

It has left several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.

The two ''discussed avenues to build on existing robust India-Sri Lanka development cooperation in the Housing sector to address reconstruction and rehabilitation requirements in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah,'' the Indian High Commission said in a post on X on Friday.

According to a report by the island nation's Disaster Management Centre early on Friday, 486 people have been killed and 341 are missing due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.

As many as 2,303 houses have been fully damaged while 52,489 have been partially damaged in the aftermath of the cyclone, according to the data. India has been extending humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, with extensive air, sea and ground operations delivering urgent relief to those affected.

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