The Hon. Roshan Akmeemana

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I represent Trincomalee—an affected district—and wish to outline impacts and our district response.

¶ 02 All 11 Divisional Secretariat divisions in Trincomalee were affected by the “Dicha” cyclone and consequent floods. Seruvila, Verugal, Muttur, and Kinniya were worst hit; Kuchchaveli, Kantale, and Sripura were also affected.

¶ 03 Crucially, our flooding was not primarily due to local rainfall—Trincomalee is not a heavy-rain district—but massive rainfall in the Central Highlands came down the Mahaweli via tributaries. Through Cherugal Aru and Mawil Aru it enters the sea from Muttur side, and from Verugal–Lankapatuna on the other side. The four DS divisions between these two outlets—Seruvila, Cherugal, Muttur, Kinniya—saw about 30,000 people impacted. Yet, with prior planning and evacuation, not a single casualty occurred; we are proud of that.

¶ 04 Causes included breaches: Mawil Aru bund failed at 14 locations totalling about 1.5 km; Mahaweli flood-protection embankments failed at 31 locations totalling about 2.5 km. The flood wave broke through into villages. Anticipating this two days earlier, we mobilized the administration and tri-forces to move people to safety and averted a catastrophe.

¶ 05 We see this as a national calamity whose pain we in Trincomalee share—floodwaters carrying devastation from the Central Highlands.

¶ 06 I thank the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Civil Defence, and the clergy and administrators of religious places—Seruvila Rajamaha Viharaya, Neelapola Viharaya, Dehiwatta Viharaya, the Muttur temple, Muttur Grand Mosque, and Nathagahindnagar Mosque—for their selfless service.

¶ 07 Access to Seruvila, Verugal, Muttur and Kinniya was cut off for days as roads were destroyed. People in Kantale, Gomarangkadawala, Sripura, and Thambalagamuwa quickly rallied, enabling delivery of water and dry rations by sea and air with careful planning. I am proud of our people.

¶ 08 The measure of a civilization is not comfort in good times but how it faces adversity and rises again. Each catastrophe reveals three limits: of nature (we must respect natural boundaries), of our institutions (their true strength in crisis), and of our society (our cohesion and organization).

¶ 09 A nation is not destroyed by disasters alone, but when people lose faith that they can rise again. Recovery is physical; overcoming is moral. We can rebuild roads, bridges, houses, and schools with money and effort—we are already allocating funds. Whether we emerge stronger depends on whether society believes it can rise again.

¶ 10 Government’s role is not only to provide relief but to instil confidence: not only to repair damage, but to build belief that we can live better than before. Personal pain must become a collective responsibility; no one should feel alone.

¶ 11 This supplementary estimate is to bridge the gap until hope returns—showing that a plan is underway. Lives, homes, and roads were lost, but the country is not destroyed. No one is saying we cannot recover. That is because the state apparatus is being steered to inspire collective rebuilding with a clear plan.

¶ 12 Hon. Deputy Chairperson: Your time is up.

¶ 13 Please allow one minute.

¶ 14 Unity is not a mere slogan; it is sometimes a strategy. Even when some in the Opposition tried to sow confusion, we refrained from counter-attacks to preserve unity—because uniting society is itself an instrument now.

¶ 15 Rich nations are not those without disasters, but those with systems to recover from them.

¶ 16 Hon. Deputy Chairperson: Please conclude.

¶ 17 In 30 seconds: People need to see leadership that can take us out of this and that there is a plan. Our President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, provides that leadership; the NPP Government has a plan, and the people believe we can rise stronger than before.