UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena today urged the government to provide a special allowance to public sector employees—particularly field officers—highlighting that such support is crucial during a national disaster.
He proposed several additional measures to assist affected communities, including announcing relief for impacted Grama Seva divisions, offering interest-free bank loans and six-month leasing concessions for businesses, and deciding on compensation for partially damaged houses.
Abeywardena further suggested setting minimum and maximum compensation amounts for fully damaged homes, providing financial assistance to rebuild damaged housing walls based on square footage, and granting relief to farmers affected by crop losses.
He also called for empowering Divisional Secretaries and Grama Niladharis to release sand from new deposits for reconstruction work in coordination with relevant agencies, as well as relaxing restrictions on sand extraction and transport to prevent unnecessary legal issues.
