A total of 155 houses built by India under the Indian Housing Project in Sri Lanka, were on Sunday handed over to the residents of the country's plantation area.
The handover took place in a special ceremony at Bridwell Estate in Bogawantalawa jointly by Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe and High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu in the presence of the Minister for Hill country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development, Palani Digambaram.
Wickremesinghe, in his remarks, thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Government of India for the development support extended to Sri Lanka.
The High Commissioner, in his remarks on the occasion, congratulated the owners of the newly built independent houses.
Sandhu underscored that the Indian Housing Project in Sri Lanka with a grant of over 350 million USD (about 50 billion LKR), was the largest Indian grant assistance project in any country abroad. He also recalled that out of the total commitment of 63,000 houses, 47,000 houses had already been built.
Expressing India's support for the realisation of Sri Lanka's developmental priorities, High Commissioner Sandhu reiterated the commitment of Indian government and people to participate with the people of Sri Lanka in their journey towards greater peace and prosperity.
Several Members of Parliament and Central Provincial Council including senior officials from Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT), Implementing Agency - Sri Lanka Red Cross, Bogawantalawa Regional Plantation Company and a large number of people from the region attended the function.