The Hon. M.S. Uthumalebbe

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, the recent cyclone and floods resulted in 643 deaths and 183 missing persons, according to daily updates. Approximately 6,228 houses were fully or partially destroyed. Kandy District was among the worst affected—Kamburapitiya, Geli Oya, Galagedara, Elamaldeniya, and Akurana areas suffered heavily.

¶ 02 At the request of our SLMC leader and Kandy MP Hon. Rauff Hakeem, about 500 volunteers from the Eastern Province came to assist, including Akkaraipattu’s Mayor and former Provincial/Local Government Minister Hon. Athaulla; Kattankudy Municipal Chairman Aswar; MP Hisbullah; Eravur Municipal Chairman and former MP Sali Nazeem; Addalaichenai PS Chairman Uwais; former MP and Pottuvil PS Chairman Musharraf; Irakkamam PS Chairman Mushpi; and others. Akkaraipattu Municipal Council vehicles were also brought. With these, we could address urgent basic needs. The Eastern Province Governor also helped mobilize local authority vehicles—our thanks to him.

¶ 03 We saw the severe hardship of the people on the ground. At the National Disaster Management meeting chaired by the Hon. President three days prior, we requested comprehensive plans to ensure safe living conditions for hill-country people, including in Nuwara Eliya. Many homes are built on slopes where no government can guarantee safety; thus, we urged permanent provision of safe lands for resettlement.

¶ 04 The Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 50,000 relief payments have not reached some people. We brought this to the Hon. President, who directed that payments be made within a week.

¶ 05 After the 2004 tsunami, teams were sent abroad at great cost to study future preparedness; reports were produced but not implemented. We must establish standing plans and special teams, always ready to respond.

¶ 06 Additionally, in the Eastern Province, the Mavil Aru (Mavil Oya) anicut repeatedly breaches, putting thousands in Muttur and Trincomalee at grave risk. In Ampara, the Senanayake Samudraya bund frequently breaches and is rebuilt. We repeatedly allocate large sums. We request priority for the Sammanturai–Periyakalappu drainage scheme and the Kalmunai–Karavakulam (Karavakupattru) drainage scheme through the Irrigation Ministry and Disaster Management Ministry. Around 50,000 people have lost lands due to recurring floods; fishermen have been unable to go to sea for months. Please expedite these works. Thank you.