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Aid for flood hit areas misappropriated - UNP MP

Dayashri Jayasekara, an MP with Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party (UNP), told parliament that Rs. 6.35 million sent as aid to areas highly affected by floods in the East of Sri Lanka in 2011 had been misappropriated.

Jayasekara stated during a debate that several officials involved with the bank had been involved with embezzlement.

The allegations have been denied by Deputy Finance Minister Geethanjana Gunawardena, who claims that the money had been used to provide relief to close to 6,000 families in the Eastern Province and tabled documents to support his claims.

At the time, UNICEF stated in a report that over a million people were directly affected and over 300,000 were displaced due to the floods in Batticaloa and Amparai.

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