Friday, 05 December 2025
Friday, 05 December 2025
India dispatched additional movable modular bridge systems to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka on Thursday as part of ongoing humanitarian support aimed at reconnecting isolated communities and restoring essential services across the battered island nation.
Sri Lanka continues to grapple with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.
Several districts remain cut off, straining the country’s already stretched disaster response capacity.
The death toll reached 486 while 341 people were reported missing by Thursday evening as extreme weather since 16 November devastated large parts of the country.
A C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force delivered more Bailey Bridge systems on Thursday, a day after similar supplies were flown in along with 500 water purification units following a request from Colombo.
“Yet another C-17 Globemaster of @IAF_MCC landed in Sri Lanka carrying Bailey Bridge units. These modular structures can be rapidly assembled, within hours, to restore connectivity along vital road links of Sri Lanka,” the High Commission of India in Colombo posted on social media on Thursday.
“The massive structure can be installed within a few hours to replace damaged bridges, significantly strengthening relief access and mobility for emergency services in landslide- and flood-hit areas,” it said.
The flight on Thursday also carried 25 personnel, including expert engineers to install the bridge and a medical team to assist the field hospital deployed earlier, the mission said.
Engineers who arrived on Wednesday have already begun installing the Bailey bridge in the required areas.
“Indian field engineers who arrived last night with Bailey Bridge units have reached the site for reconnaissance. They are now working to restore vital road connectivity along key routes damaged in the wake of #CycloneDitwah, helping reopen access for communities in need,” it added.
The mission added that disaster-management cooperation between the two neighbours also continued in the digital sphere.
In a virtual meeting on Wednesday, Bhaskar Katamneni, Secretary of Real Time Governance in Andhra Pradesh, shared a digital toolkit detailing the state’s best practices in disaster preparedness and response with Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Advisor to the Sri Lankan President on Digital Economy, and the GovTech team.
India continues its humanitarian assistance under Operation Sagar Bandhu through extensive air, sea and ground efforts.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed appreciation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s steadfast support in a social media post on Wednesday.
Sri Lankan officials said the scale of the humanitarian crisis is deepening. Data from the Disaster Management Centre showed more than 18,44,055 people from over 5,19,842 families were marooned by Thursday evening.
The government is running 1,347 relief centres sheltering more than 188,000 people, according to National Disaster Relief Services Centre Assistant secretary Jayathissa Munasinghe.
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission director general Bandula Herath said about 75 per cent of mobile coverage had been restored. No communication towers were damaged, but 16,926 distribution points remain affected due to shortages of electricity and fuel to power generators.
Authorities reported rising accidental deaths among relief workers, taking the toll to eight. A 41-year-old electricity board employee died due to electrocution during restoration work.
A Sri Lankan Air Force pilot died during an airdrop mission, while five Navy personnel and a Road Development Authority worker lost their lives during rescue operations.
Officials estimated economic losses of between $6 billion and $7 billion, equivalent to roughly 3 to 5 per cent of Sri Lanka’s GDP, due to the cyclone.
