The Hon. Fasmin Sharif
Hon. Fasmin Sharif described the severe flood and landslide impact in Kandy District, particularly Gampola, and outlined rescue and relief efforts coordinated through the District Secretariat, Udapalatha Pradeshiya Sabha, security forces, local youth, and outside relief teams. He tabled documents on affected areas, relief distribution, and safe centres, and rejected allegations that local authorities failed to act, citing early public alerts and continuous operations. He said the immediate major challenge is clearing accumulated garbage in Gampola and called for a long-term solution to the lack of land and planning for solid waste management.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, why is my time reduced? I was told seven minutes. Nevertheless, thank you.
¶ 02 Kandy District suffered greatly, especially the Gampola electorate. People did not even have drinking water that day. I too was affected, but we continue to serve the people.
¶ 03 District Secretary Indika Udawatta and I got stuck in Kandy that day; I could not reach Gampola. We operated overnight from the District Secretariat. Hon. Thanura Dissanayake worked hard to bring boats to Gampola; by 10 p.m. they left, and by 6 a.m. we had them in Gampola. The Armed Forces, Police, and village youth worked tirelessly to save lives.
¶ 04 I table documents on affected locations, relief distributions, and safe centres under the Udapalatha Pradeshiya Sabha Division.
¶ 05 We mounted a major operation. Some said the Udapalatha PS did nothing—wrong. Our PS Secretary issued public alerts from 6.30 a.m., including to people behind the Saliella Temple in Babile. Since 1947, Gampola has never seen such floods. It was not the people’s fault; there was little awareness. Even my own family hesitated to leave; people thought multi‑storey houses were safe.
¶ 06 Someone alleged we failed to provide relief and mentioned People’s Leasing; that site is in Nawalapitiya, not Gampola. In Gampola only one person died due to floods; most deaths were from landslides. Our PS Secretary worked despite illness; we all slept only an hour or two across 66 hours to run operations. Police too worked hard. Under Deputy Minister Nalin Hewage, the Galle “Rathu Tharuwa” relief force of about 500 came to Gampola with major assistance. The Army, CEB, and National Water Supply Board worked day and night. We did not do Facebook shows; we visited every camp, looked at needs for water and food, without media photos.
¶ 07 A big issue now is garbage—tons piled up in Gampola. How to clear and clean the town and villages? No past government set aside land for solid waste management. This is a long‑standing problem we must solve.
¶ 08 Thank you.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Friday, 5 December 2025 ·No. 23059 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Fasmin Sharif. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 5 December 2025. No. 23059. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/23517