The Hon. M.A.M. Thahir
Hon. M.A.M. Thahir described repeated flood damage in the Ampara District, noting that rehabilitation work worth about Rs. 300 million following the 2023 opening of the Senanayake Samudra floodgates had been damaged again by recent floods. He requested government attention to restore irrigation and agricultural infrastructure, warning that only about one month of irrigation water remained before harvest. He also thanked community organizations involved in rescue and recovery efforts in Mavadippalli, Karaitivu, Sainthamaruthu and Kalmunai, and called for relief for residents of Navithanveli, which he said had been entirely submerged and left people unable to work.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity to speak in this Adjournment Debate on disaster management.
¶ 02 In 2023, due to monsoonal rains, we were compelled to forcibly open the floodgates of the Senanayake Samudra in Ampara District, completely disrupting agriculture there. Although about Rs. 300 million worth of rehabilitation was carried out in 2024, the recent floods have again damaged everything. These works now need to be redone. Crops require water up to harvest, but only about a month’s irrigation water remains. I request Government attention.
¶ 03 During the recent disaster in Mavadippalli, a local Janaza welfare organization engaged in rescue efforts; I thank them. Though people of nearby Karaitivu are from a different community, they too contributed to retrieving the deceased; I thank organizations in Mavadippalli, Sainthamaruthu, Karaitivu and Kalmunai.
¶ 04 Navithanveli was entirely submerged; people could not go to work. Notably, Navithanveli gave me a large number of votes at the last parliamentary election. I request relief for these people who were unable to work. Thank you.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 4 December 2024 ·No. 1733893521018713 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. M.A.M. Thahir. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 4 December 2024. No. 1733893521018713. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/25724