COLOMBO, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's parliament on Friday approved a supplementary estimate of 500 billion rupees (about 1.61 billion U.S. dollars) to restore livelihoods and rebuild infrastructure damaged by a recent disaster.

The parliament said in a press release that the supplementary estimate was passed without a vote. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also attended parliament and participated in the debate seeking approval for the funds.

Under the housing relief program, families from a total of 17,648 disaster-affected houses will receive financial assistance of up to 5 million rupees each, said Dissanayake in his speech.

Other financial assistances, including the amounts and forms of subsidies provided to farmers, herders and fishers, as well as enterprises in the industrial and business sector, were also detailed by the president.

The government also announced a grant of 25,000 rupees for disaster-affected schoolchildren.

The measures form part of the government's broader disaster recovery program aimed at restoring livelihoods and accelerating economic recovery nationwide. ■