The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development and Leader of the House of Parliament

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I make this special statement due to the prevailing heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides. First, a brief clarification regarding Kadugannawa and the measures taken, then an overview of the current national situation. The Hon. President is meeting MPs from affected areas right now, and we expect the Minister of Public Security to deploy the necessary security forces and NBRO officials accordingly. My Ministry had, in September and October, issued advance advisories anticipating such disasters.

¶ 02 I now table the NBRO letter dated 2025.11.25 to the Kegalle District Secretary regarding the rockfall at Km 97/5–97/6 on the Colombo–Kandy Road on 2025.11.22, which completely halted traffic. Residual rock and soil remain on the slope and could fall with rain; a subsidence has also occurred at Km 99/5. Based on investigations, NBRO has issued short-term recommendations: - Allow limited one-way traffic on the right side only, and only when there is no rain; - Construct a minimum 2 m high sand/soil barrier on the left (rockfall) side; - Deploy flagmen and traffic lights; provide night lighting; - Maintain continuous monitoring for slope instability or ground movement; - Close the road if instability is observed.

¶ 03 I table this letter. Experts believe that if rain stops, gravity acting on the large precarious block may rebalance; with rain, it may slip. Therefore, the road will be closed during rain, and the public should use alternative routes. We have provided special transport under protection for A/L candidates.

¶ 04 On the wider disaster situation, according to NBRO’s Senior Scientist H.H. Hemasinghe’s report, from 2025.11.20 to today 2025.11.27 at 8.30 a.m., 140 landslide-related incidents were recorded; this has now risen above 170. Reported deaths were 26 as of this morning: 16 in Badulla and 10 in Kandy (including six from the earlier incident and four more). Four persons are missing in Nuwara Eliya. Of the 140 reported sites this morning, NBRO had inspected 97; the rest are pending. Multiple roads in the Eastern Province are closed: ten in Batticaloa, one each in Ampara and Trincomalee; this may change with rising waters. Please, the public must not go sightseeing at hazardous sites; the 1411 line has requested that as well. We anticipated this and have been acting with maximum intervention for a month. Following today’s discussion with the President, further measures will be taken.

¶ 05 I also table the December 1999 NBRO “Preliminary Investigation Report for the Evaluation of Slope Stability and Geo-environmental Hazards Associated with Rocky Embankments of Kadugannawa Area.” We aim to preserve this historic, sensitive corridor, designate it as a sensitive zone, protect the public and provide reliefs; final decisions will be taken after the President’s discussion.

¶ 06 Thank you.