The Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna

¶ 01 Thank you.

¶ 02 Regrettably, the promised Rs. 1,000,000 compensation per death has not yet been paid.

¶ 03 We have repeatedly said—even at the Party Leaders’ meeting—that Opposition MPs have not been included in district-level disaster management activities, leaving no platform to flag these issues. Politicization has caused serious problems: so-called village committees of the Government’s “Praja Shakthi” political network have intruded into functions of Grama Niladharis and Divisional Secretaries during aid distribution. Newspapers report Divisional Secretaries refusing to proceed without proper guidelines; some Grama Niladharis have resigned under pressure; NBRO has given only oral, not written, guidance on risk zones. Due to the Government’s mismanagement, the cyclone-affected people are suffering twice—first from the disaster, then from mismanagement. Officials tasked with relief face undue political pressure. Lack of proper, clear guidelines to implement the President’s relief package has created severe difficulties.

¶ 04 I also wish to highlight that NBRO has issued a report regarding 13 houses at Puwakpitiya in the Pallepola DS Division, listing rainfall thresholds and advising actions such as: remain vigilant if 24-hour rainfall exceeds 75 mm; be on high alert above 100 mm; and temporarily evacuate to safer places above 150 mm. But are safe evacuation sites designated? People cannot stand around with rain gauges measuring millimetres. If rainfall exceeds thresholds, have safe locations been identified for evacuation? These are the real gaps we have found. Will we wait for the next rains to wash away more houses and then pay compensation again, or will we provide stable, durable solutions for those in high-risk areas under a proper disaster management programme?

¶ 05 Similar situations exist in Alakolamada (Rattota), as well as Alkaduwa, Watagoda and Yatawatta—some houses remain isolated and at risk due to surrounding collapses. I table further details including press reports.

¶ 06 Therefore, I urge the Government to immediately implement a structured post-disaster management programme beyond mere political publicity and media shows; otherwise over 10.5 million people may face a severe crisis.