Government has delivered relief aid to residents of Muko and Bufundi sub counties in the district of Rubanda, who were recently hit by landslides.
The relief was on Thursday delivered by State Minister for Relief and Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru under office of the prime minister.
The OPM delivered 250 bags of maize; each bag containing 100 kilogrammes of flour. The relief follows a heavy downpour that paralyzed the areas on Tuesday leading to landslides that claimed 17 lives in Nfasha trading centre, Kachereere Parish, Muko Sub County and Rwaseyeza village in Mugyera Parish, Bufundi Sub County.
14 other people sustained injuries during the landslides while eight are still missing. The floods also damaged over 50 houses and ravaged crop gardens.
Ecweru says that priority, in the distribution of relief food, was accorded to families that lost loved ones and those that sustained injuries in the tragedy. They received 300 kilograms of maize flour and 100 kilograms of maize flour respectively.
Ecweru says that the rest of the flour will be distributed equally among displaced people and families hosting them.
Rubanda District Chairperson Jogo Kenneth Biryabarema hailed the government for the timely intervention saying hundreds of the residents had been left with nothing to eat.
Rubanda District Woman Member of Parliament Prossy Mbabazi Begumisa says the government needs to provide additional food items like beans, Irish potatoes and maize seeds in support of the victims.