The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan
Sivagnanam Shritharan welcomed the Minister’s measures on the rice issue but reported severe flood damage to paddy cultivation, including around 60 percent of fields in Kilinochchi and losses across Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar, Trincomalee, Ampara and Batticaloa. He said wet and damaged paddy could not be stored and that farmers had suffered losses both during flowering and harvesting stages. He urged the Government to provide urgent support and a lifeline for affected farmers ahead of the coming short season.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Minister, your measures on the current rice issue are good. As a Member from Kilinochchi, I wish to record that about 60 percent of Kilinochchi’s paddy fields have been destroyed by floods, including due to heavy rains in recent days. With wet paddy, farmers cannot store; ear heads have soaked in water. There were earlier damages during flowering and now at harvesting. Similar losses are seen in Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar, Kilinochchi and also in high-production districts like Ampara and Batticaloa—affected farmers from Verugal in Trincomalee also complained this morning. Please find a way to support and lift them in the coming short season. Farmers are the backbone of this country; please provide an urgent lifeline.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 23 January 2025 ·No. 1738314169039521 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 23 January 2025. No. 1738314169039521. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/10598