President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga on Monday commended the Transitional Accommodation Project (TAP) of the Task Force for Relief (TAFOR) for completing 50,000 temporary houses for tsunami victims in a short time until permanent houses are built for them in the near future the President said this in itself was a great achievement for which TAFOR Chairman Tilak Ranaviraja and his officials should gain the credit.

She also thanked UN agencies and NGOs for helping TAFOR to make this achievement. The President made these observations when she presided over a progress review meeting of the Transitional Accommodation Project at the President's House.
The President said Sri Lanka had no previous experience of a calamity of this nature and magnitude or an organisational structure in place when the tsunami struck its coastline unexpectedly on boxing day last year.
 
She said thankfully foreign countries and non-governmental organisations as well as Sri Lankans resident abroad volunteered assistance in the country's hour of need enabling it to re-emerge from the utter devastation caused.

President Kumaratunga said more than 50 per cent of the affected families housed in public places, welfare centres and tents were provided transitional houses within the first three months after the calamity and now altogether more than 50,000 families have been provided with such accommodation until permanent houses are built for them.

Representatives of the UNDP, UNHCR, IOM and WFO received special mementos from the President during meeting.