Rajapaksa government should immediately arrange for safety and welfare of flood affected thousands
- Saturday, 27 December 2014
State agency mandated to monitor and issue warnings and advice on natural disasters, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has reported over 660,000 as affected during the present floods in the North Central and Eastern Provinces. It is also reported over 80,000 have been displaced already and over 90% of the affected people are not in safe locations, with rising water levels.
The worst affected area is said to be Batticoloa district and it is a Tamil and Muslim district. All affected people are starved of food, have no safe drinking water and fuel. Children and infants are the most vulnerable in this situation. They need immediate attention.
Meanwhile the National Building and Research Organisation (NBRO) warns people in the Central Province, especially in Matale, Nuwara Eliya and Badualla districts should evacuate from areas already identified as prone for landslides. The Met department forecasts more rain in coming hours.
What’s this Rajapaksa regime doing all this while?
It is ridiculous to ask people to move out without any assistance from State agencies. It is the responsibility of the government to have logistics in place and in time for people to move out to safe places.
It is ridiculous to ask people to move out without any assistance from State agencies. It is the responsibility of the government to have logistics in place and in time for people to move out to safe places.
It is five days now as the incessant rains have lashed the island. The Rajapaksa regime, which boasts about 'development" is dragging its feet in moving relief for the affected people. Met department predicts further rains and the situation may get worse turning into a colossal human tragedy.
Though a natural disaster, a humanitarian tragedy has to be avoided. Ten years after Tsunami, this country would not want another unnecessary tragedy. I therefore call upon the government to get its act together in shifting all affected people to safe locations immediately and provide them with all welfare facilities, food, drinking water and fuel.
I also demand the government to allow Citizens to join in relief work instead of blocking civilian efforts as in Koslanda landslide disaster on 28 October. It was the people who did immediate emergency and relief work when the Tsunami devastated lives ten years ago.
-USP Presidential Candidate United Socialist Party-
