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Dialog & Customers Contribute to Flood Relief

2011-01-24 18:02:50         Colombo

 

Security Forces’ Communication Costs in East/North Central Waived by Dialog

 

Customers of Dialog Axiata PLC together with their service provider raised Rs. 5 million towards flood relief efforts in the North Central and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. The relief items consisting of dry rations, milk powder, water and sanitary items were handed over to the Sri Lanka Army represented by the Eastern Range Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Major General Boniface Perera, by the Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, Mr. Anusha Pelpita, in the presence of Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC.

Dialog launched a flood relief SMS campaign on the Friday 14 January and invited its customers to donate Rs 10/- through an SMS pledge. Dialog in turn pledged to match each donation with a further Rs 10/-. The campaign generated close to 200,000 SMS pledges and together with a special monetary contribution from Dialog, a round sum of Rs. 5 million was directed towards the purchase of essential items for flood victims.

As a further token of gratitude for the invaluable efforts of the Security Forces, Dialog Axiata further pledged to waive off all communication costs of the Sri Lanka Army (Security Forces) in the Eastern and North Central Provinces during the period of the rescue and resettlement efforts.

In the aftermath of the incessant rains and flooding in the Eastern and North-Central provinces, the Sri Lanka Army has lead operations on the ground coordinating rescue and relief efforts for the hundreds of thousands displaced persons. Troops in coordination with government agencies and other oraginsations have provided temporary shelter, cooked meals, dry rations, medicine and clothes to civilians at camps set up in the Ampara, Batticaloa and Dambulla areas. Troops have also conducted mobile medical camps to assist the affected.