SL donates Ceylon Tea for Aus bushfire victims

Colombo, Feb 14 (IANS) The Sri Lankan government on Friday donated 4 tonnes of Ceylon Tea for the bushfire victims in Australia, authorities said.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had pledged the donation in a recent telephone conversation with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, to convey Sri Lanka's condolences and support to the government and people of Australia, reports Xinhua news agency.

"A symbol of Sri Lanka, 'Ceylon Tea' is popular among Australians and this donation will be distributed to the people in the affected areas," an official statement said here.

"Sri Lanka and Australia have always stood by each other during difficult times, especially during the 2004 tsunami disaster when Australia extended the hand of support to Sri Lanka," the statement added.

The tea was transported in a SriLankan Airlines flight from Colombo to Melbourne.

Across Australia, the bushfires fires have killed at least 33 people and destroyed thousands of homes since it first erupted in September 2019.

More than 11 million hectares of land, an area comparable to the size of England, has been affected across all states and territories.