The Hon. Ajith Gihan
Hon. Ajith Gihan raised concerns about worsening coastal erosion along the Puttalam stretch from Modaragam Aru through Wilpattu to Mannar, citing damage to fishing communities, homes, harbours, boat landing areas, and traditional shore-based activities. He said existing protections, including the Chilaw rock revetment, are being overtopped and requested urgent funding, a ministerial site visit, and the creation of a rock stockpile for rapid response during erosion events.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Minister, as you said, the Coast Conservation Department is intervening and some work is being done. The Puttalam coastal stretch—from Modaragam Aru to Wilpattu and up to Mannar—is about 425 km. Erosion has been increasing, causing huge losses to fishing communities. Once land falls into the sea, it cannot be restored. People lose land, fishery harbours and homes, and livelihoods. Traditional shore-based activities like drying fish are affected; boats no longer have places to be beached. Even the rock revetment in Chilaw is being overtopped. The sea is behaving unusually, and erosion could worsen. Special intervention is required.
¶ 02 My request is to allocate necessary funds urgently, visit and observe the area personally, and arrange adequate allocations. We need a rock stockpile ready for rapid deployment during erosion events.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 23 July 2025 ·No. 1754386160089643 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Ajith Gihan. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 23 July 2025. No. 1754386160089643. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/4112