Over 1 million Sri Lankans affected by drought

More than one million people in Sri Lanka have been affected by a 10-month-long drought in 14 of its districts, top officials say.

Sri Lankan Health Minister Maithreepala Sirisena said on Monday that about 1.5 million people were affected by the drought in the country’s north, central north, and eastern areas.

According to official sources, about 111,459 families in the districts of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Hambantota, Puttalam, Mannar, Vavuniya, Moneragala, and Ampara have been affected by the prolonged situation.

Sri Lanka’s government has reportedly allocated $1.47 million for relief for the people living in the districts affected.

Last week, the government announced that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had received cabinet approval to put in place an accelerated development program aimed at targeting drought alleviation, worth about $1 million.

Recent data show that increases in food prices caused the country’s inflation to rise to 3.6 percent in the month of July from 2.8 percent in the previous month.

Sri Lanka experienced a severe drought in 2012, which reduced growth from the projected 7.2 percent to 6.7 percent.