The Hon. Eranga Gunasekara - Deputy Minister of Urban Development

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, what we hear in the Opposition’s debate is shouting from two sides. On one side, they claim our state officials did nothing. On the other, they allege thefts and interference.

¶ 02 We do not suffer such confusion. We know how much District Secretaries, Divisional Secretaries, Assistant Divisional Secretaries, and other officials did. Members of the Opposition know this was a catastrophe across 21 districts; only four districts were spared. It is the greatest devastation in our known history. Yet some in the Opposition try to make political capital, counting deaths and suffering rather than standing together as a nation.

¶ 03 As of now, in Colombo District alone, more than 80,000 families are affected by floods and over 300,000 people displaced. In Kolonnawa Electorate, over 50,000 families are affected; more than 200,000 people displaced. This is a disaster. A disaster is not a planned process; yet some try to link this to Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday was a planned attack with prior knowledge—only the live warning was not given. But what is this?

¶ 04 They grab a single channel and spread misinformation to create a public narrative: “There was information and the Government did nothing.” We repeatedly ask: if you had information, present it. They don’t. Instead, by leveraging media with political agendas, they claim no action was taken—inside and outside Parliament. Meanwhile, they tell us they will join hands. I say: do not cling to falsehood. Win people’s hearts; bring people together. If all unite, we can rebuild the country. Do not be ready to grasp at lies.

¶ 05 After the President focused Parliament on this, our plan was: gather Opposition MPs and immediately convene disaster committees at each Divisional Secretariat; then activate GN-level disaster committees; then coordinate the military, police, and all Opposition MPs to come to those places. Through that intervention, even under these conditions, we saved lives. Some things cannot be planned out of such a situation. In some DS divisions, population density is very high—Kolonnawa is one. Flooding is familiar there. Even if we tell people to evacuate, they don’t; members representing those areas know this. Security and comfort at shelters are issues in any country, including ours. We forecast that this would be worse than 2016 floods; still, many did not evacuate. You cannot rescue everyone from rivers and seas.

¶ 06 That is disaster reality. Rather than counting how many are currently affected, we must work. We believe in the state system. I know officials whose own homes were submerged, whose children were kept elsewhere, yet they continued working in DS offices and GN divisions. That is our public service. We trust the people too—and the volunteers. Look at the National Youth Services Council youth: not clinging to falsehoods, but working from the heart.

¶ 07 This is a tragedy; it is devastation. But we are not people who anticipate destruction—we are optimists grounded in reality. As the President said, even if we are at point zero, together with all our people we are ready to lift this country. Let us clasp hands—not by the sleeve, but from the heart—and work together. Thank you for the opportunity.