July 27, Colombo: The Disaster Management Ministry of Sri Lanka is gathering information at district level on the paddy lands that have been destroyed due to the shortage of water.

The Ministry has said that the number of paddy lands that have been destroyed amounts to around 5,000 to 6,000 hectares.

Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has assured that relief would be provided to the farmers who have been affected by the drought.

He has said the government would help the farmers to cultivate for the Maha season when the Yala season ends.

However, according to Amaraweera, despite the drought a harvest of about 700,000 -800,000 metric tons of rice is expected from this Yala season.

The Ministry of Agriculture has meanwhile, said the seed paddy and other seed crops will be provided free of charge to farmers whose crops were damaged during the Yala season for them to cultivate next harvesting season.

The government has allocated 250 million rupees to provide the seeds and the Ministry has already identified the affected families, the Secretary to the Agriculture Ministry has said.

Minister Amaraweera has disclosed that information on the farmers and paddy lands affected by the drought are being gathered by the district secretaries' offices.