The Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna

¶ 01 Thank you.

¶ 02 Hon. Speaker, identifying accurate data on the damage from Cyclone “Ditwah” is crucial. Only with accurate data can we provide relief and plan for future disasters. Yet we still have neither accurate identification of data nor presentation of such data to Parliament. Even yesterday evening I tried to obtain written district-level data for Matale from Divisional Secretariats. Regrettably, some offices said they did not have the data to provide. Nearly one month has passed since the cyclone struck—from November 27 to December 27—and today is January 21.

¶ 03 Large numbers of our people are still under great distress. Based on international and local sources before us, UN reports indicate 1.5 million people were affected, with 474 deaths (including 29 in the Matale District). A total of 356 persons have been reported missing across the country; in my electorate alone, eight persons are missing—seven near Nagala/Siyambalagaha in the Laggalapalle-gama/Narangamuwa area—and a development officer about 30 years old. UN reports also note 201,875 persons stayed in disaster centres. The ILO indicates that about 300,074 workers in affected areas have been impacted, implying monthly income losses of around USD 48 million. The World Bank estimates economic losses at USD 4 billion, about 4% of GDP.

¶ 04 Across 25 districts, around 2 million people—approximately 500,000 families—were affected. Community assets, roads, highways and railways; bridges; houses; lands; livestock and agriculture have been devastated. Hospitals have been damaged; the Watthegama Hospital is reportedly totally destroyed, and the Gammaduwa Rural Hospital heavily damaged. Businesses too have been hit. The World Bank cites about USD 4.1 billion in damages. Both national and international reports, including from the Disaster Management Centre, show the scale clearly.

¶ 05 To assess whether the Government fulfilled its responsibilities, we must consider three phases:

¶ 06 1) Preparedness before the disaster: Government action on international and local forecasts and departmental advisories was gravely inadequate.

¶ 07 2) Response during the disaster: The Government’s declaration of a holiday and the Kalawewa bridge incident show the weakness of response; I will not detail each event, but the manner of handling was unsatisfactory.

¶ 08 3) Post-disaster management: This is the current phase—how we provide relief to those affected. While some actions have been satisfactory in places, many areas remain cut off. In my Laggala electorate, the village of Elagala in Ambanganga Korale still has no access road, affecting schooling and livelihoods. There is also widespread confusion about promises made. The President said even if a roofing sheet was lost, Rs. 100,000 would be paid. Yet even those who lost entire homes have not received assistance and remain without places to go, with homes under landslide threat. The Government tells them to find land and houses themselves; how can they? They are told Rs. 25,000 will be paid for rent, but without key money how can they secure housing? These practical issues confront our people daily. Similarly, promises of Rs. 500,000 or even Rs. 1,000,000 per house, and Rs. 1,000,000 for a death, remain largely unfulfilled.