PM tours Meethotamulla; promises to move garbage mountain fast

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who cut short his State visit to Vietnam and returned to the country last night due to the tragedy in Meethotamulla, yesterday visited the site where a massive garbage mountain collapsed last Friday, burying dozens of people and homes.

Visiting those affected by the tragedy, the Premier promised a house to each of the families affected by the disaster.

The Prime Minister, engaging in an observation tour at the site, promised to remove the Meethotamulla garbage dump as soon as possible.

After the tour of Meethotamulla, Wickremesinghe attended a joint meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena to decide on the compensation to be paid to those affected.

The estimates on the property damages are expected to be completed by Friday (21). Compensation for properties damaged in the disaster will be paid according to the estimates.

Meanwhile, the Government has promised to bear the cost for the funerals of those who were killed in the tragedy. So far 33 bodies have been recovered from the rubble.

The Finance Ministry announced that Rs.100,000 would be paid as compensation for life and Rs. 2.5 million for property damages.