‘Senehe Siyapatha’ spearheaded by Dialog Provides 25 Homes to Flood Affected Victims of Eheliyagoda

Hon. Duminda Dissanayake - Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources and Disaster Management and Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive, Dialog Axiata PLC, unveiling the plaque in Eheliyagoda, signifying the completion of 25 houses under the Senehe Siyapatha 2017 initiative whilst (L-R) Malani Lokupothagama, District Secretary/GA – Rathnapura, Hon. Ruwan Wijewardene, State Minister of Defence and Siripala Kiriella, Co-Chairman, Eheliyagoda Divisional Coordinating Committee looks on.

Hon. Duminda Dissanayake - Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources and Disaster Management ceremoniously cutting the ribbon of a house in the presence of Hon. Ruwan Wijewardene, State Minister of Defence and Amali Nanayakkara, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC.

The Senehe Siyapatha initiative, spearheaded by Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, recently saw the completion 25 houses in Eheliyagoda, Ratnapura district. The house keys were ceremoniously handed over to 25 home owners in the presence of Hon. Duminda Dissanayake - Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources and Disaster Management and Hon. Ruwan Wijewardene, State Minister of Defence, on 28th August, 2018 in Eheliyagoda, Ratnapura district.

Malani Lokupothagama, District Secretary/GA – Rathnapura, Nadee Tharangi Jayasinghe, Assistant Divisional Secretary – Eheliyagoda, Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive, Dialog Axiata PLC, Amali Nanayakkara, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC, Hiroshini Fernando, CEO/Director of RIL Property PLC and Anusha Sanjeewani CEO/Director of Food Buzz (Pvt) Ltd also graced the occasion as special invitees.

The fund was established to provide relief for victims, through generous donations from Dialog subscribers, tripled in value through a donation by Dialog Axiata PLC. Dialog subscribers contributed Rs.16.53 million towards the creation of Senehe Siyapatha 2017 fund and this was tripled by Dialog Axiata adding a further Rs. 33.47 million. RIL Property PLC, also made a donation of Rs. 7.5 million to raise a total sum of Rs.57.5 million for the ‘Seneha Siyapatha 2017’ fund. The first initiative of Seneha Siyapatha 2017’ in Kotapola, Matara saw the completion of eight houses which were handed over the public on the 29th of July.

Civil construction services for the 25 new houses were contributed at no cost by the Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air force under the direction of the Ministry of Defence and supervision of the Ministry of Disaster Management. The houses were constructed as per specifications given by the NBRO (National Building Research Organisation) under the aegis of the Ministry of Disaster Management and the construction supervised by Sierra Construction, whilst the project was managed by Dialog Axiata PLC.

Hon. Duminda Dissanayake MP, Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources and Disaster Management said “The Senehe Siyapatha initiative has been instrumental in providing new homes to those who were severely impacted from natural disasters that Sri Lanka experienced in 2016 and 2017. Today we see the completion of another 25 houses in Eheliyagoda – that has garnered the support of Dialog subscribers, Dialog, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Disaster Management.”

Hon. Ruwan Wijewardene, State Minister of Defence, speaking at the occasion said “I want to sincerely thank the Tri-forces for supporting the Ministry of Disaster Management and Dialog during times of natural peril, through the extension of their labour in building homes for the Senehe Siyapatha initiative.”

“We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to our generous subscribers who have contributed towards construction of 63 new homes over the course of 2017 and 2018. We see the results of a collaborative effort – in which likeminded partners have come together to support a national cause.” Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive, Dialog Axiata PLC said.

The disbursement of funds and the actions of the ‘Senehe Siyapatha’ initiative is independently audited by PriceWaterHouseCoopers Sri Lanka.