The Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, due to the “Dicha” cyclone, lives were lost across Sri Lanka including in Matale District. I express my condolences to those families, pray for the departed, and that the missing are found. I also pray that the Government has the strength to swiftly rehabilitate the displaced and restore their lives.

¶ 02 I thank the Matale District Secretary, Divisional Secretaries, Assistant Divisional Secretaries—some offices had none—field officers, doctors, the tri-forces, clergy of all faiths, and the public who saved lives and fed the displaced in the early days. Bless them all.

¶ 03 In the Central Highlands there were over 1,400 incidents of landslides, slips, and slope failures. The Knuckles range (Dumbara) has suffered massive collapses, earth turning to slurry. Geologists and experts at NBRI are still unable to model or theorize fully what happened; there’s no modern precedent here or internationally. In our lifetimes we have not witnessed such a disaster—only in ancient lore do we hear of the earth rumbling, skies trembling, cities consumed by fire, or triple terrors. Today we face such triple fears and ground collapse across much of the Central Highlands—earth swallowed into depths unknown. This is not a trivial matter; it feels like divine wrath.

¶ 04 Rains persist. Yesterday there was tragedy in Ududumbara. In makeshift camps people eat only lentils and soya-meat. The day will soon come when the public can no longer keep providing lunch packets; then the Government will have nowhere to hide. These people need solutions, not political grandstanding with sandbags or politicized flood relief. Temporary fixes are necessary, but if next month we resort again to sandbags, what are we doing? It rains for months here; we need permanent solutions. Tell us where permanent engineering remedies and estimates have been prepared.

¶ 05 Let’s bring Government and Opposition together for this.

¶ 06 Hon. Deputy Speaker: Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna, your time is up.

¶ 07 In such calamity, politics is useless; gather everyone—experienced and inexperienced—to find lasting solutions. Do not be arrogant; please, do not be arrogant. Bring everyone together. We need a national plan.

¶ 08 On education: most relief camps in my area are in schools, and reopening is essential. But people still have nowhere else to go.

¶ 09 Hon. Deputy Speaker: Hon. Member, we have one more speaker before lunch.

¶ 10 Then please coordinate with clergy of all faiths to house displaced persons in religious institutions; otherwise, O/L and A/L exams will be disrupted. If we do not solve problems correctly now, they will cascade like a chain. Fields and wells are filled with sand. When farmers try to remove sand to clear their fields, police issue fines despite ministerial letters; the Minister in charge of Police opposes relief.

¶ 11 Hon. Deputy Speaker: Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna, your time is up.

¶ 12 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I will conclude swiftly. In Ambanganga Korale and Wilgamuwa, people are struggling. When they clear their farmlands and paddy with their own effort—

¶ 13 Hon. Deputy Speaker: I will have to call the next speaker.

¶ 14 I will finish quickly.

¶ 15 If farmers are fined for removing sand to rehabilitate their fields, the Government itself should remove the sand and clean those fields for them. Proper data is still lacking.

¶ 16 Hon. Deputy Speaker: Next, the Hon. Gayantha Karunathilleka.

¶ 17 Please allow me one minute.

¶ 18 Hon. Deputy Speaker: I already gave you an extra minute and a half.

¶ 19 Give me thirty seconds more, please.

¶ 20 Hon. Deputy Speaker: Okay, ten more seconds. Conclude.

¶ 21 Give me just half a minute, Hon. Deputy Speaker.

¶ 22 At present, about 30,000 acres are estimated affected—data is uncertain. Please support farmers to clear fields; otherwise it is like yoking an ox to a man fallen from a tree. Thank you.