Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that the government had to provide houses to those forcibly evacuated from houses in the Colombo region under the development programs of the previous regime.

The Prime Minister was expressing his views at a function held to grant the entitlement of a new house to the family of Sasanka Jagath Alwis, a student of Royal College Colombo, who is under a coma after a near-drowning in the school's swimming pool.

Sasanka, who was a grade nine student at the Royal College, nearly drowned in a swimming pool on 2nd March 2013 while engaging in school activities. He has since been in a coma in a vegetative state in the hospital.

The family has rendered helpless also by a decision taken to dismantle their house located in Kollupitiya as a result of a road development project.

Following the helpless situation experienced by the family, action was taken to provide a new house under the guidance of Minister Sajith Premadasa.

Minister Sajith Premadasa said that they were gifting a house worth 3.5 million rupees on behalf of the family of the student.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe entrusted the entitlement of the new house to the mother and sister of Sasanka Jagath Alwis at Temple Trees Tuesday. The Prime Minister also instructed the officials to take the necessary future measures for the well being of the family.

The mother of student Sasanka expressed her gratitude for the provision of a new house to them.