The continuation of the ‘Seneha Siyapatha’ initiative saw the completion of eight houses in Kotapola, Matara district, through the generous donations from Dialog subscribers, tripled in value through a donation by Dialog Axiata PLC and further supplemented by support in civil construction services from the Sri Lanka Army.
The house keys were ceremoniously handed over to the owners in an event under the auspices of Project Management, Youth Affairs & Southern Development Minister Sagala Ratnayaka in Matara on Sunday.
A.S.S.Kumara, Senior Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Defence, G. Amarasinghe, Divisional Secretary, Kotapola, Kavan Ratnayaka, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Amali Nanayakkara, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC and Shayam Majeed, Group Chief Corporate Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC also graced the occasion as special invitees.
Under the first phase of the Seneha Siyapatha 2017 initiative, eight houses were constructed in Kotapola, in the Matara district, while the second phase would see the completion of 25 houses in Eheliyagoda, in the Ratnapura district. Construction of four additional houses in the Kotapola area within the same initiative, is currently under discussion. Dialog subscribers contributed Rs.16.53 million towards the creation of the Senehe Siyapatha 2017 fund, which was tripled by Dialog Axiata, adding a further Rs. 33.47 million. RIL Property PLC too, made a donation of Rs. 7.5 million to raise a total sum of Rs. 57.5 million for the ‘SenehaSiyapatha 2017’ fund.
The Seneha Siyapatha Fund was first initiated by Dialog on May 20, 2016, in line with the mission to serve communities who were affected by natural disasters and had previously seen the completion of 30 houses in Aranayake, in the Kegalle district. The Kotapola initiative was carried out under the patronage of Sagala Ratnayaka, Minister of Project Management, Youth Affairs & Southern Development, whilst the civil construction services were contributed at no cost by the Sri Lanka Army, under the directions of the Ministry of Defence and the 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, while the construction was supervised by Sierra Construction, whilst the project was managed by Dialog Axiata PLC.
Minister Sagala Ratnayaka said “It brings me great pleasure to witness the completion of the Kotapola housing project, part of the Senehe Siyapatha initiative.
It is with heartfelt gratitude that I would like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who contributed their time and efforts towards this worthy cause.”
“We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to our customers for their generosity in supporting this worthy cause. Today, we see the results of this contribution as we hand over the completed homes to those affected by the disaster,” Group Chief Marketing Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC Amali Nanayakkara said.
The disbursement of funds and the actions of the ‘Senehe Siyapatha’ initiative is independently audited by Price Water House Coopers Sri Lanka.