Dec 27, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government will provide relief to farmers who have been affected by floods in several districts of the country.

Secretary of Agrarian Services Ministry Udeni Wickremasinghe has said that lands for cultivation and fertilizer would be provided free of charge to farmers affected by floods.

The government has estimated that some 78,559 hectares of paddy lands have been completely destroyed and 158 mini irrigation tanks in 11 districts have been extensively damages by floods.

Wickremasinghe has said that some 313,000 bushels of seed paddy and 25,500 metric tons of fertilizer are to be distributed among the flood affected farmers.

The Agrarian Services Ministry says that repair work on the damaged irrigation tanks has already commenced.