The Hon. (Dr.) Susil Ranasinghe - Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, the “Dicha” cyclone and associated disasters affected millions and destabilized lives. Essential services—water, electricity, and roads—were disrupted and damaged.

¶ 02 In water supply, 22–23 out of 25 districts suffered significant disruption. Of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board’s 342 water treatment plants, 156 were affected in various ways: inundated pump houses, pump failures, broken pipelines, landslides over lines, power outages, and access roads cut off. Around 480,000 customer connections lost supply for about two days, creating a major potable water challenge.

¶ 03 Under the Department of Community Water Supply, about 3,800 rural schemes operate; 622 were affected, serving about 135,000 households. Altogether, around 600,000 connections lost supply when including both agencies; private wells and sources were also contaminated or submerged.

¶ 04 Despite the scale—some pipelines completely washed away, pumps and panels burnt or shorted, and access impossible—within 5–7 days we stabilized supply across most systems. This was a major achievement. I extend sincere thanks to officers, workers, and especially technical staff of the NWSDB and the Department of Community Water Supply.

¶ 05 Preliminary estimates show about Rs. 5.6 billion in damage to NWSDB infrastructure and about Rs. 600 million to Community Water Supply schemes; losses in local authority-managed schemes are yet to be fully assessed but are also significant. Staff from unaffected districts, including retirees who volunteered, worked day and night in high-risk areas, sometimes reaching sites only by boat or wading. The Tri-Forces assisted, as did Master Divers, Sri Lanka Railways, Colombo Dockyard, the CEB, voluntary groups, youth teams, and local communities. Thanks to these efforts, within a week, water, power, and roads were largely restored.

¶ 06 We delivered water to critical hospitals like Kandy and Peradeniya by bowser—about 2,500 trips in 5–7 days—ensuring uninterrupted services.

¶ 07 We also saw broad national solidarity: prisoners donated meal money; estate workers donated a day’s wage; southern communities sent boats, backhoes, and tippers; and religious leaders and citizens across communities helped selflessly, without politics or media theatrics. Within a week we stabilized core services, and we will proceed with short-, medium-, and long-term programmes beyond immediate “back-to-normal” to build resilience. Thank you.