The Hon. Ravindra Bandara

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, as a Government we stabilized the economy and moved toward economic victories. Even though the “Dicha” cyclone came, we presented this supplementary estimate without treating it as a setback. Even now, rains continue in the affected areas. State officials, Grama Niladharis, Divisional Secretaries, the Armed Forces, Civil Defence Force, Police, and volunteers are working in the rain. I salute them.

¶ 02 People suffered, but we also see the Opposition in disarray. Today they wanted to take the lunch break time to speak. In past instances, they demanded extended sittings but left the Chamber after 12.30 p.m. The same is happening today; very few of them remain. They called to convene Parliament while our Members were on the ground. The very person who asked is not here now. The public should know this. In managing such crises, everyone’s confidence in the Government’s programme is firm, and we move forward with that trust.

¶ 03 In our district, as Minister Samantha Vidyaratne said, we first saved lives, then cleared roads to access isolated villages. We then assessed irrigation damage. In Badulla, irrigation systems—tanks, anicuts, and canals—over 1,300 points—were destroyed. Under the “Power of Determination” great voluntary operation, more than 5,000 people daily, state officials, Army and Civil Defence Force included, worked voluntarily in heavy rain.

¶ 04 There was talk that Uma Oya canal repairs would take three to four months, jeopardizing this season. But we completed critical works within 12 days to ensure irrigation water for this season. Some criticized stop-gap measures like sandbag buttressing, saying soil nailing is the long-term solution. True, but we first delivered immediate solutions to save the season; engineering fixes will follow.

¶ 05 We used specific clays and natural fibers (like coir) to seal seepage scientifically, not simply piling rocks and concrete which could increase pressures. The aim was to prevent immediate washouts and allow cultivation. People appreciate these practical solutions.

¶ 06 You said the economy would collapse and stabilization would fail. But this year saw the highest worker remittances in recent history and the highest tourist arrivals in years, reflecting regained confidence. Earlier claims—no alms to temples, no peraheras, economic collapse, gas queues returning—proved false. The dollar did not soar to Rs. 400 in April as predicted. Work proceeds well.

¶ 07 With proper planning and officials’ involvement, and frequent Disaster Management Committee meetings stretching late into the night, we executed the response. Complaints that heavy machinery wasn’t available ignore that some local bodies had only one backhoe or JCB, sometimes inaccessible due to landslides. Still, many volunteered machinery and labour.

¶ 08 Recall Meethotamulla: when the garbage mountain collapsed, rescuers were attacked and machinery blocked during protests under the previous government. In contrast, now we act decisively. Before we came to power, plantation families in Haputale displaced by landslides were kept in an abandoned tea factory; only now are houses being built.

¶ 09 Someone said the dollar is rising; but in recent history, volatility has been lowest this year. We have USD 6 billion in reserves and Rs. 1 trillion in rupee liquidity buffers. Such buffers are crucial for crisis management.

¶ 10 The Opposition could help: there are about 1,300 irrigation works; even taking charge of one, as in the past “Red Star” volunteer efforts, would matter. People from Matara, Ratnapura, and Ampara—over 1,000 a day—came for 10 days to help. We are now launching the “Nena Diri” operation to restore schools, alongside routine government work. Perhaps this is why the Opposition looks helpless and dejected.

¶ 11 Hon. Deputy Speaker, please grant me a brief extension.

¶ 12 Because they claim to have “worked 25 out of 27,” they fell by 25; that will not happen now. They fear the Community Power Programme. Through the Pradeshiya Coordination Committee Chair’s representative, assistance is channelled to repair paddy fields, bridges and other damage, with state officials coordinating well. But if the Opposition continues in denial, they will fall even further.

¶ 13 Thank you.