VP Radhakrishnan Visits Sri Lanka, Reaffirms India's Housing Commitment to Tamils

According to a post on X by the Vice President, he visited homes constructed under the Indian Housing Project (Phase III) at Liddlesdale Estate in Ragala, where he interacted with residents and expressed satisfaction at meeting members of the Indian-origin Tamil community.

In a post on X, the official handle of the Vice President said, "Vice President of India, CP Radhakrishnan, today visited houses built with the assistance of the Government of India under the Indian Housing Project (Phase III) at Liddlesdale Estate, Ragala, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, and interacted with the beneficiaries."

The post added, "The Vice President expressed his happiness at meeting the Indian-origin Tamil community and stated that the Government and people of India have a deep commitment to the welfare of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. He noted that the Government of India has so far provided 50,000 houses for the Tamil families in Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, as well as to Indian origin Tamil families in plantation regions. He added that an additional 10,000 houses will be delivered under the fourth phase of the Indian Housing Project."

The visit highlighted India's ongoing development partnership with Sri Lanka, particularly in supporting housing and rehabilitation efforts for Tamil communities affected by past conflict and economic hardship.

In another post on X, the Vice President also addressed the impact of Cyclone Ditwa, expressing concern over the destruction caused and outlining India's swift humanitarian response.

The post said, "While interacting with Indian-origin Tamils in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, Vice President CP Radhakrishnan expressed his deep sorrow over the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwa and discussed India's prompt relief and rescue operations launched under 'Operation Sagar Bandhu'."

Earlier on Sunday, highlighting India's development partnership with Sri Lanka, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the final tranche of houses under Phase III of the Indian Housing Project was completed and handed over during Vice President C P Radhakrishnan's visit, marking a major milestone in the flagship initiative.

"In addition, during the same community reception, the Vice President also announced the completion and handing over of the final tranche of houses under phase three of the Indian housing project," Misri said during a special briefing.

He noted that Phase III included 4,000 houses for estate workers across Sri Lanka's Central, Uva, and Southern Provinces, adding that the majority had already been delivered.

Describing the scale of India's commitment, Misri underlined that the project remains one of New Delhi's largest grant assistance initiatives abroad.

"Some of you may be aware that the overall project, which was announced close to 15 years ago, has an overall commitment of nearly 1,835 crore Indian rupees. It's a flagship grant assistance project in Sri Lanka. If I'm not mistaken, it's probably the largest such Indian grant assistance project outside of India," he said.

He added that 50,000 houses have already been completed under the initiative, while work on an additional phase is underway."50,000 houses have already been completed under this project, and work on a fourth phase comprising 10,000 houses is now underway," Misri said.

- ANI