India's 'Sagar Bandhu' Aid for Sri Lanka

Tamil Nadu has dispatched around 1,000 tonnes of essential food items and clothing to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu to help mitigate shortages caused by Cyclone Ditwah, the High Commission of India in Colombo said on Sunday.

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The High Commission of India in Colombo stated that approximately 300 tonnes of relief supplies arrived in Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships. The aid was handed over by High Commissioner Santosh Jha to Wasantha Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka's Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development. The minister expressed gratitude for India's timely support.

"#OperationSagarBandhu preventing scarcity of essential food items. Tamil Nadu has sent about 1000 tonnes of essential food items and clothes to #CycloneDitwah hit under #OperationSagarBandhu," High Commission of India in Colombo wrote on X. "Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo in 3 Indian Naval Ships today morning. This was handed over by High Commissioner @santjha to Hon'ble Wasantha Samarasinghe, Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development. Hon'ble Minister thanked India for the timely assistance. Another ship INS Gharial with about 700 tonnes of relief material will reach Trincomalee tommorrow," the post added.

Cyclone Devastation and Ongoing Risks

Earlier in the day, the Sri Lankan authorities issued fresh landslide warnings as relentless rains continued to pound regions already devastated by Cyclone Ditwah, pushing the nationwide death toll to 627, Al Jazeera reported. Other parts of Asia are also grappling with the scale of destruction, with combined casualties across the region now exceeding 1,800.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) cautioned that ongoing monsoon storms were making hillsides increasingly unstable, particularly in the central highlands and the northwestern midlands. Officials said the extreme weather has compounded the suffering of more than two million people -- nearly 10 per cent of Sri Lanka's population -- affected by last week's climate crisis-driven floods and landslides triggered by the island's worst cyclone this century, as per Al Jazeera.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) cautioned that ongoing monsoon storms were making hillsides increasingly unstable, particularly in the central highlands and the northwestern midlands. Officials said the extreme weather has compounded the suffering of more than two million people -- nearly 10 per cent of Sri Lanka's population -- affected by last week's climate crisis-driven floods and landslides triggered by the island's worst cyclone this century, as per Al Jazeera. (ANI)