250 places of worship affected by Ditwah to be rehabilitated

13-Aug-2026

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The Cabinet has approved a programme to reconstruct places of worship affected by the Ditwah disaster, with 250 such places to be rehabilitated in the first phase.

Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa made the announcement while briefing the media on Cabinet decisions at the Government Information Department on August 11.

According to his announcement, the Ditwah cyclone conditions caused various forms of damage to 758 Buddhist temples, 272 Hindu temples, 199 Muslim mosques and 99 Christian churches.

In accordance with Cabinet decisions dated April 27, 2026 and June 15, 2026, steps have now been taken to carry out rehabilitation work at 250 of these places of worship using Rs.329.62 million allocated by the Government, together with Rs.929.69 million allocated by the Buddha Sasana Fund, the Central Cultural Fund and the Anagarika Dharmapala Foundation.

Cabinet has also approved a proposal submitted by the Minister of Buddhist Affairs, Religious and Cultural Affairs to rehabilitate a further 144 damaged places of worship using Rs.232.07 million, he said.