Colombo, March 29 (TIWN) The Sri Lankan government has approved a proposal to pay an allowance of 5,000 LKR ($17) to low-income families for two months in view of the festive season.

Minister of Energy Gamini Lokuge told the media that the government has identified around 3.1 million low-income families to receive the allowance, which is akin to a bonus for the upcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year, reports Xinhua news agency.  The Minister added that the government has the necessary funds to provide the allowance.  The government will spend 30.1 billion LKR on the allowance.