India rushes second consignment of relief to Sri Lanka

New Delhi, Jan 17 (PTI) India today rushed the secondtranche of the USD one million aid to provide relief to theflood-affected population of Sri Lanka.

An IL-76 carried 21 tonnes of sugar, pulses and milkpowder besides around 20,000 ready to eat meals, 20,000 waterpurifier tablets and one thousand mattresses from here toColombo, IAF officers said.

The first consignment of the relief material wasdelivered to Sri Lanka on January 14.

The relief will be distributed to the displaced andother flood-affected people in Central, Eastern and NorthernSri Lanka, they added.

India has expressed its solidarity with the Sri Lankangovernment at this difficult moment and stands ready to assistit to deal with this humanitarian challenge, the officerssaid.

The devastation caused by the monsoon floods hasalready hit one million and fifty thousand persons in theneighbouring country. More than 361,000 persons have been lefthomeless and provided temporary shelter at 594 camps.

The eastern province of the island nation has been theworst affected. The Batticaloa district has received arainfall as high as 1602.2 mm during last 42 days, which isonly 46.7 mm short of its annual rainfall.