Monday, May 29, 2017

Cabinet reshuffle must reunify government if it is to be meaningful

By Jehan Perera-May 29, 2017, 8:10 pm

The cabinet reshuffle that took place last week saw important portfolios switch hands within the government. The smooth transfer of ministries and the grace of those were subjected to the change in accepting their new portfolios offer hope that the tension that had dogged UNP-SLFP relations will now subside and pave the way for more effective governance. The past several months have seen many expressions of dissatisfaction from members of the two main political parties that make up the Government of National Unity. They openly cast doubt on the usefulness of the cohabitation agreement and argued it would be better not to extend the two year agreement when it reaches its culmination later this year in August. There was concern that the government might not even make it to the two year mark.

However, the key protagonists to the decision to stay together or depart are President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Whatever may be their inner concerns, neither of them has publicly echoed the misgivings of their party members who prefer separation to unity. Their leadership positions have enabled them to take a more holistic view of political realities than their more impatient party members. Both of them have publicly affirmed that the two year cohabitation agreement will be renewed and extended for the entire five year duration of the government’s term of office. It would seem that the President and Prime Minister recognize that they need to stay together for two basic reasons.

The first need for continuing to govern together is to keep former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his political allies in the Joint Opposition from making a comeback to power. The former president continues to retain a significant degree of popular support amongst the general population. He also continues to have sizeable support within the SLFP in terms of the party machinery to which he gave leadership during the ten years of his presidency. The former president also appears to have access to large financial resources due to his long stay in the highest office in the country and to the support he enjoys with those who have access to vast financial resources. Apart from popularity, the Joint Opposition’s ability to marshal a vast multitude for their May Day show of strength was an indication of the financial resources at their disposal.

NATIONAL INTEREST

The second reason for the UNP and SLFP to stay together transcends the interests of individual politicians to stay in power or to keep others out of power. It goes to the heart of governance. The bipartisan UNP-SLFP government provides the platform for reform of the system of governance that could deal with the fundamental weaknesses that led to three decades of war and to the near collapse of state institutions during that period of turmoil. The government has a 2/3 majority which is the prerequisite for constitutional change. It should be noted that the Index of Fragile States put Sri Lanka in the top 20 of fragile states in 2008 and today it is still at 43 on the ranking list of fragile states out of the 178 countries that have been ranked. Both the decades of war and the weakening of state institutions were responsible for the devastation to the national economy and to the large scale human rights violations that took place.

Much was expected in terms of reform when the government changed in 2015. The political parties that spearheaded the campaign for change promised to establish good governance, restore the Rule of Law and to hold accountable those who had acted with impunity in their dealings with human rights and with financial crimes. Indeed, the new government lived up to expectations when it immediately transformed the political culture into one in which respect for life and for free speech took the centre stage. The culture of fear that once prevailed due to governmental actions is dispelled to a large degree. On the other hand, the government has so far failed to take action against those from the former government and other parties who committed human rights and financial violations in the past.

Little progress is to be seen in the few cases that the government has filed with regard to the outrageous crimes of the past, even those that took place outside of the war and which should therefore not be subject to the perils of nationalism. These include criminal murders and mega corruption. Although cases have been filed in courts, there has been little progress in solving them. It appears that the police and other investigative authorities are dragging their feet out of uncertainty as to what the political authorities who are their masters want to do. This has led to the speculation and surmise that the government is not of one mind in desiring the prosecution of at least some of those who have been accused of committing criminal, human rights and financial crimes in the past.

IMPORTANT CHALLENGES

The appearance of weakness and indecisiveness of the government has led to insolent action against it and what it has promised to stand for. Some of the trade unions that have been trying to compel the government to follow their diktat by repeatedly going on strike have mocked the cabinet reshuffle as not contributing to the resolution of their issues. More serious has been the spate of attacks against the Muslim community that have spread fear to them. An alarming number of attacks against Muslim religious places of worship and businesses are being reported countrywide causing economic ruin to many people, hurting their religious sentiment and bringing them dismay and leaving the entire community in fear of life and security. The worsening trend has been going on for several years and has a pattern of repeating after a short lull. It has intensified since April this year with over 20 attacks or attempted attacks being reported from different parts of the country in the past two months.

Dealing with the aggression against the Muslim community requires a bipartisan effort as it involves dealing with Sinhalese nationalism that is a potent political force in the country, which few have dared to take on. The government has to pay attention to the growing anti-Muslim sentiments among segments of majority community and the use of violent means to take their message and action to the ground. This situation needs to be investigated and the root causes need to be addressed through meaningful short-term and long term actions. Countering false propaganda will need to be a central part of the government and civil society agendas.

The other important challenge that the government needs to take on is the reform of the constitution in order to ensure a greater measure of inter-ethnic power sharing which many governments in the past tried to but failed to do. The most significant feature of the cabinet reshuffle from the viewpoint of promoting a public consciousness of the need for political reform is the appointment of former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera as both Finance and Media Minister. This gives a positive message that the government is serious about winning over public opinion to its reformist agenda. As Foreign Minister, he championed the cause of transitional justice and reconciliation in a way that won the international community’s backing for the country. Now with the two powerful posts of Finance Minister and Media Minister he can consider himself to be given the mandate to champion this most difficult cause of peace within the country.

Human Rights activists call for release of prisoners held under PTA

2017-05-30

In Sri Lanka, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and the Emergency Regulations introduced to combat LTTE terrorism and other Tamil militant groups are considered by Human Rights activists to be draconian pieces of legislation. They charge that those detained under the PTA are unjustifiably remanded for decades with no charges against them or charges which are based on confessions made to police officers under duress. Human Rights activists claim that apart from the injustice faced at the hands of the police and the prison officials, they also undergo harassment from fellow prisoners. These prisoners detained under the PTA are constantly referred to by the Tamil politicians and Human Rights activists as “Political Prisoners.”

Human Rights activists call for release of prisoners held under PTA.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Sri Lanka Floods 2017: Sharing the Blame

Featured image courtesy European Pressphoto Agency

AMJAD MOHAMED-SALEEM on 05/29/2017

Once again Sri Lanka is in the grip of a natural disaster. Thousands have been displaced and hundreds killed by the floods and landslides. The tragedy is that this time the rains were not necessarily unprecedented and the irony is that the Minister for Disaster Management was in Cancun at that time talking about the capacity of the government to respond. Despite his very impressive speech it was clear that his own disaster management ministry was left wanting of the basic supplies.

For me, this cannot be dismissed as sheer incompetence. This is not only tantamount to a lie but also a crime; a crime of negligence which has had the severest of consequences. As I wrote a year ago, we should have seen this as a pattern that Sri Lanka over the last few years has suffered from rain causing flooding with the situation worsening every year. Last year we should have learned our lesson, yet we are still in a scenario as if we are responding for the first time.

However this is a crime whose responsibility is not just to be borne by the Government. We in academia, civil society and the private sector also need to take a share of the blame. For weeks and months after the floods, we met and talked about what to do differently. Yet it seems that all of that was for naught. We have always talked about being prepared yet we seem to have largely failed.

The sad reality is that we had a full representation of civil society and the private sector attending the UN’s World Humanitarian Summit, in Istanbul a year ago. Commitments and consensus from the international community for a much more responsive humanitarian structure and system to be developed to address the changing complexity of needs were obtained. Yet like all international processes, Sri Lanka was a mere observer, using the occasion to be seen as opposed to thinking about using it to do something different. The Government had little interest in getting engaged as they dispatched the Minister for Transport and Aviation (hardly an authority on humanitarian responses and disaster management) with a couple of civil servants and a few civil society activists, who had managed to secure financial support from the UN to attend. This in itself is telling that we are still in a system where civil society and NGOs have to gather external funds to support trips being done to discuss issues that are of significant interest in the long run to the country. The mere fact that we are interested to give money when disaster strikes yet unable to provide money for prevention is something we need to seriously discuss.

Having been intimately involved with the preparations for the Summit, I found myself at a loss that there was also little appetite for any comprehensive discussion in country. The sole ‘national’ consultation carried out for Sri Lanka in the run up to the Summit was done by a few national CSO’s and INGOs, and ironically pointed out key issues that needed to be considered some of which have bearings with this crisis:

The need to improve coordination in humanitarian response involving a central body at the country level coordinating all humanitarian agencies working in the country
The empowerment of local communities
The use of GPS and drones for the location of victims
The use of mobiles for with a recommendation for telecom operators to operate specialized cross network channels to allow for ease of communication
The stockpiling of food and non essential items.
The involvement of young people in humanitarian responses

While these consultations got lost within the framework of a UN process, what I have been baffled about is the fact that these national CSOs/NGOs who were part of this discussion and generated these considerations have also failed to implement some of these in their work moving forward.

There should have been better training and preparedness. Yet what I have been struck by is the reticence of Sri Lankan civil society to respond. From a lack of financial and human resources capacity to a more political stance of ‘who was seen to be taking the lead in these conversations’, what has resulted has been a lack of a proactive process of working on contingency planning. But this is not just left to the civil society who have been guilty. Private sector has to ask itself some serious questions. While many private sector organisations have taken it upon themselves to become the custodians of humanitarian response (namely in the absence of a coherent response from the UN/ Civil Society and Government), they have done so largely uncoordinated. They have also been guilty of playing the politics card. For example, the Connecting Business Initiative launched at the World Humanitarian Summit by a Sri Lankan private sector company was designed to transform the way that private sector engages before, during and after crises. Leaving aside the complexities of engaging with 2 UN agencies, this initiative has largely not taken off in Sri Lanka (despite it being one of few focal countries). Private sector has been largely disinterested (choosing to fly their own flags) or when approached have expressed reservations about which particular company and individual was seen to be at the forefront of this initiative. Such petty political stances means that in the absence of a government response, there is no other collective effort to provide a humanitarian response. It is then left to individuals and individual organisations to respond in a haphazard manner without the proper training, advice, expertise and sensitivity which is a bit ironic given the fact that in their day to day business, private sector will not get into something unless they have the necessary expertise and knowledge.

It’s not necessarily rocket science but it is about being aware of what to do and what not to do.It would be wise as well to remember that there is life beyond the initial help following the onset of the disaster. We forget the medium and long term.

People at the center of the crisis will need to be empowered to cope and recover with dignity in the coming days, months and years. The voices and choices of the affected people and the first responders should guide our response even when outside actors are called upon to provide assistance and protection. It is all very well for us who from outside talk about the provision of food or non food items but we have to take into account that surveys consistently show that many affected people do not believe the aid they receive is relevant or meets their priority needs.

Thus it is not just about the provision of goods and services but the rebuilding of services and structures to cope and resume their livelihoods on their own. We cannot afford to create a culture of dependency. It is now increasingly being recognized that the provision of cash or vouchers in emergencies can support people in ways that maintain human dignity, provide access to food and shelter and help rebuild or protect livelihoods. Of course this is context specific depending on the extent of the disaster, but the aim of such programming allows a flexible response tool that supports the autonomy and choice of these people, while making humanitarian aid more accountable to the affected people. It allows them to recharge their phones for example to communicate with loved ones or even to look after their own specific businesses. It also gives them agency at a time when you have lost everything. It helps them to get engaged. Yet from the appeals that have gone out, we are still making decisions for the affected people asking for things that we think that they need in terms of items, somehow assuming that in the tragedy victims would have lost their rationale to think or worse that they are somehow dishonest and would cheat the system. Such thinking to some extent devalues the worth of our fellow human beings reducing them to being thought of as beggars who should accept what we give because they have lost everything.

The issue is not to dismiss the provision of food and other valued items but to also consider how cash and voucher transfers can be used in the best effect. For this to happen we need to have a paradigm shift in terms of our thinking of how we respond to emergencies.

We need to close the gender and diversity gap in our response to those who have been affected. Women, girls the elderly and the disabled often are unable to claim their rights and fulfil their needs in a crisis. This has to start with an effective information management which includes disaggregated data and other key relevant indicators.

Lastly those affected will need support in getting back to their homes so cleaning and return kits are essential. This is where we often fail. They will need help to restart their businesses and rebuild their shattered lives. How can we ensure that we have programmed this in our fundraising as well as our time and resource allocation? What provisions do we have for livelihood support? When the crowds die down and the interest declines, how can we ensure that people are still remembered?

We now also seriously need to think collectively about contingency planning. The government has shown that it is inept at preparing for the crisis. We need to collectively work on better training and being better equipped in areas of preparedness and response to disasters and crisis. We need to strengthen national legislation on emergency preparedness including contingency planning and early warning systems which also identifies the roles and responsibilities of various actors including the private sector. As international aid for humanitarian and development work declines for Sri Lanka due to its middle income status classification, it is left on the shoulders of the national NGOs, Government and Private Sector to respond. We cannot afford to be reacting like this once again in a year’s time because we will have more problems as our thirst for development and urbanisation means we take shortcuts in planning and construction.

If in a year we have not been able to prepare and respond adequately then the blame is not just on the government but on us collectively for the crime of negligence that we failed to learn from our mistakes.

Readers who found this article enlightening should read, “Sri Lanka Floods 2016: avoiding the mistakes of 2004” and “In the aftermath of floods: reflections on Flood Aid and youth-led mobilisation in Colombo.“

While country is devastated by floods Thilanga the deputy speaker throws party wasting Rs. 5 million ! People haven’t even a single meal but he spends Rs. 4000 per meal.

(Lanka-e-News - 29.May.2017, 6.45AM) While the whole country is experiencing natural disasters – floods and landslides devastating the country ,and the people are facing untold hardships , Thilanga Sumathipala the deputy speaker of most revered Parliament cum president of the Cricket Association , is in the ready to throw a most extravagant party on the 28th. A sum of about Rs. 5 million is expected to be spent (wasted ) on this party . Thilanga is indulging in this profligate exercise on account of the Annual general meeting of the cricket association.

The officials have been appointed for two years , and therefore this year there are no election of office bearers .

Yet this wasteful Tamasha is being arranged by Thilanga in order to get the annual audit report and the annual accounts passed by the membership which is a mandatory requirement under the Cricket association Act.

It is however learnt that the auditor general has not given the approval for the accounts this year. A number of cricket clubs are vigilantly following the colossal expenditures , yet throughout the whole of last year, there were reports of controversial expenditure including those without following proper tender procedures .

Treasurer Shammi forbidden to sign checks …

Unbelievably , the minister of sports who imposes fetters on Badminton , football and other clubs is behaving worse than a timid obedient puppy of Thilanga by turning a blind eye to all the latter’s financial malpractices wasting billions of rupees of the association.

The letters sent to every club for the annual general meeting , an amendment to the constitution that was passed at the recent special general meeting was annexed. According to that , only an individual who satisfies the eligibility requirement can hold the post of treasurer.

Shammi Silva who is the present treasurer however hasn’t the eligibility , yet he is getting ready to continue in that post during the following year too. The only qualification he has is the friendly ties he maintains with Thilanga and sports minister Dayasiri .

The three of them are members of the CCC club. Though Shammi Silva holds the post of president of CCC club , because the former secretary of the club has filed a case against him , Shammi is not eligible to sign even a check . The irony of it is he is still allowed to continue as the treasurer of the association.

Shammi who recruited an individual (a female) of his own club to the association’s financial division authorizes all expenditures through her . Nobody in the financial division does a scrutiny of the accounts.

Though a chief executive of a media Institution cannot be selected to the executive committee of the Association , Sujeewa Godaliyaddha the chief executive of Lakbima newspapers of Thilanga is in the executive committee of the association. He is given an allowance , and uses two vehicles of the association . He is the one who is in charge of all the playground contracts.

Although a proper audit must be done through the auditor general because of the raging corruption involving these individuals , no proper auditing has been conducted. Thilanga after handing over a report that had not been previously audited to Dayasiri , is having his way and his say while indulging in a media circus.

By claiming assistance is going to be rendered for disaster relief , Thilanga who commenced a body under the association itself, on the 28 th (Sunday) held the annual general meeting spending about Rs. 2.5 million with plentiful air conditioning . A heavily air conditioned tent was erected at the SSC grounds (vide photos)

While the disaster afflicted areas are hard put to get a simple meal packet , the 300 representatives of the 147 clubs and sports associations are to be served with food and beverages at a luncheon at Hilton hotel at a cost of Rs. 4000.00 per head. The victims of the disaster haven’t even a bottle of water to drink , but these revelers and gormandizers are entitled to unlimited bottles of beer. Thilanga who showed ‘great’ concern, spurious though for the flood victims , had no qualms about paying several hundred thousand rupees to an advertising Co. for a book incorporating photographs.

All these expenditures and wasteful high profile Tamashas are geared to satisfy , gratify and mollycoddle the members so as to win the elections to be held next year .

In the midst of the catastrophic situation prevailing in the country , if president is not Thilanga’s superior for this obscene extravagance , and not even Dayasiri . Then it is sorry. Com.

Even when floods are drowning the country Thilanga has only his one characteristic solution- sending colossal funds down the drain .

By a special Lanka e news special reporter

---------------------------
by (2017-05-29 01:25:23)

Many victims still cut off from help

177 dead,109 missing

by Maheesha Mudugamuwa-May 29, 2017, 12:00 pm

A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopter, which was carrying flood relief items, had to make an emergency landing at Baddegama yesterday morning due to a technical fault.

SLAF Media Spokesman Wing Commander Gihan Seneviratne told the media in Colombo that SLAF’s MI17 helicopter had crashed into water while making the emergency landing.

There had been ten air-force personnel on board and none of them were injured. However, the SLAF had managed to distribute the relief materials on board by using boats, Seneviratne said.

He noted that the damage to the helicopter had not yet been evaluated and the SLAF would continue its flood relief efforts despite the incident.

Seneviratne said the SLAF had been able to reach Ayagama in Ratnapura, which was isolated due to flooding of all roads leading to it till yesterday.

Over half a million people were displaced by the extreme weather in addition to thousands of those who were evacuated, according to the statistics of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC).

As rescue operations continued for the fourth-day yesterday, some people were marooned at several locations without access to any relief. The military teams were striving to help the by using helicopters and boats.

The death toll from the four days of severe floods and landslides in the southern and western parts of the country had now increased to 177 while the number of missing people had increased to 109, DMC said.

The government feared the actual figures could be much higher.

Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardene placed the number of affected people from landslides, floods, heavy showers and high winds at 574,000 (144,000 families). He told the media yesterday that the number would increase during next few days.

According to the DMC, 109 people are currently being treated in several hospitals. Most of the victims were killed by landslides when their hillside houses were buried under mud and rocks.

Minister Abeywardena said the relief operations were ongoing with the assistance of the Police, Army, Navy and Air Force.

He said the Nilwala and Gin dams were at a risk of bursting due floods on Sunday, but the situation had been brought under control with the assistance of about 600 army personal.

Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya stressed that Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) was restoring the electricity supply cut-off due to floods.

In Ratnapura 110,000 houses are still without electricity besides 136,000 houses in Matara, 40,000 houses each in Galle and Kalutara and 60,000 houses in Ratnapura.

Siyambalapitiya asked the public to inform the CEB of power failures on its emergency contact number 011-3030303.

Meanwhile, Army (SLA) Spokesman Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne said the SLA troops on rescue operations had reached Kalawana and Pahiyangala after clearing roads leading to it. The armed forces had also been placed at Panapitiya-Bolgoda dam as there was a risk of it collapsing due to heavy rains. They were working closely with Irrigation Department’s engineers to stabilise the dam, the SLA Spokesman said.

The army requested people not to visit disaster-hit areas.

Sri Lanka Navy Media Spokesman Lieutenant Commander Chaminda Walakuluge said the Navy had deployed 114 teams in rescue operations with 721 navy men and it had successfully rescued the lives of 8,156 people so far.

The Navy had received three Indian vessels with 71 Indian rescue officers including medical teams, he said, adding that they were providing assistance to the flood hit people together with Sri Lanka Navy.

Friday’s flooding was the worst the country had experienced since 2003, when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes were destroyed. Last May, a massive landslide killed more than 100 people in the central part of the country.

The Meteorology Department yesterday predicted heavy showers of about 100mm on Western and Sabaragamuwa Provinces today and tomorrow with rains spreading through Central and North Western part of the country. Heavy showers are expected in the Sabaragamuwa and the Western Provinces, where the Met department predicted more showers expecting in to Ratnapura and Kalutara Districts.

Asked whether they could give district-wise predictions which would be more reliable to the people, Met Department’s Weather Forecasting and Early Warning Director Athula Karunanayake said the Department had no facilities to do so and its predictions were for provinces.

Highlighting the cyclonic storm "MORA" Karunanayake said the storm had no direct impact on Sri Lanka.

Rough seas would also be expected due to cyclonic condition in Bay of Bengal the North and Western parts of the coastal belt would experience high winds, he said. In addition, thunder showers was also expected today and tomorrow.

The current flood situation triggered by heavy showers was due to the activations of southwest monsoon.

The monsoon period would last till September but the rains would not last all throughout the southwest monsoon, he noted.

There was a possibility of reducing rains after June (03), he added.

The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) Landslides Research and Disaster Management Division Director R M S Bandara said landslides warning had been extended till today to eight districts including Ratnapura, Galle, Kegalle, Kalutara, Matara, Hambantota and Nuwara Eliya and people were urged to be vigilant on any signs of landslides.

Bandara said the NBRO had received 350 landslides observation requests––202 from Ratnapura, 60 from Galle, 17 from Gampaha and 32 from Kalutara.

The NBRO officers had been rushed to those places but as roads were still inundated in some areas their work was hampered, Bandara said.

The NBRO requests people to leave their homes immediately if they notice any signs of landslides till the officers investigate and declare the areas safe.

Bandara noted that the investigations in 113 locations had already been completed.

Ranil Leaves Country Amidst Chaos

MAY 29, 2017

As the country plunged into chaos following last week’s torrential rains which left scores dead, injured, missing and displaced, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe left to the US on a private tour.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe

A source from his office told the Colombo Telegraph that Wickremesinghe in fact left the country for medical reasons. “He has been postponing this trip for a while, but was compelled to go to seek medical attention,” he said. But an angry member of the general public who had heard of Wickremesinghe’s departure to the US criticized the Prime Minister for his insensitiveness to the current situation. “His government has failed to address our growing problems, and even though they had a year’s time, they were still unprepared when the floods happened this year too,” he said.

According to him, both the President and Prime Minister are regularly overseas on official tours, and the little they are in the country, they decide to go on private tours. “It may be a medical issue, but if he had his priorities right, then he could have always postponed the trip by a few days, and sorted out the mess in Sri Lanka first. He was elected for a reason and his country and the people should be his priority,” he said angrily.

Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa is also reportedly in Mexico at an international event.

SRI LANKA FLOODS: NEARLY 500,000 DISPLACED AS DEATH TOLL RISES

At least 126 people have been killed and nearly 500,000 displaced in Sri Lanka following flooding and mudslides triggered by monsoon rains, the government says.

29/05/2017

A further 97 people are still missing, a spokesman said.

Military boats and helicopters have been sent to help rescue operations.

The flooding is believed to be the worst since May 2003 when a similarly powerful south-west monsoon destroyed 10,000 homes and killed 250 people.

Rescuers had set up 185 camps for displaced people and the town of Matara in the south of the island was being evacuated because of the risk of flooding, the spokesman said.

Earlier, the head of military rescue operations Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe told the BBC that troops had reached all the affected areas and the risk to life had receded.

Rescuers dig for Sri Lanka mudslide victims

People are transported on top of an armoured personnel carrier on a flooded road in Sri Lanka

The flooding is though to be the worst in almost a decade;Image copyrightREUTERS

An aerial shot shows flood water surrounding houses in Sri Lanka

Villages have been cut off; Image copyrightEPA

“There is no danger to life now, it is a matter of providing food, water and looking into sanitation,” he said.

One of the worst affected areas was the south-western district of Kalutara. At least five mudslides had been reported there, police said.

Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC) also issued evacuation notices to residents along the Kelani river, which flows through the capital Colombo, amid fears that it was about to burst its banks.

An Indian navy ship carrying medical teams and emergency relief supplies has arrived in response to a Sri Lankan government plea for help.

“The (foreign) ministry will continue to monitor the flood situation and seek assistance as required in consultation with the ministry of disaster management,” the government said in a statement.

– BBC

Sri Lanka floods: Battle to rescue stranded as death toll mounts

By Ryan Prior, Iqbal Athas and Euan McKirdy, CNN- Mon May 29, 2017

Colombo, Sri Lanka (CNN)Severe flooding brought on by monsoon rains across southwestern portions of Sri Lanka has resulted in the deaths of at least 169 people, according to the country's Ministry of Disaster Management.

As many as 112 people are still missing, and the death toll is expected to rise, as authorities battle to rescue those still stranded and warn of the possibility of crocodile attacks.

"It was only the next morning that troops arrived in boats, and took us to safe ground," Banakiyanage Gnanawathie, who lives in the badly hit town of Matara, told CNN by phone.

"I have never seen such floods though I have spent my entire lifetime in Matara. We have lost all our belongings and remain in the clothes we wore. I am still happy we escaped the floods and even the crocodiles," she said.

She said that they won't be able to return home for days.

"There is only a roof and building. We have lost everything else."

Sri Lankan villagers cross a landslide site as military rescue workers and villagers search for survivors in Athweltota village in Kalutara.

The heavy rain occurred over a very short period of time, leading to the displacement of 112,000 people, according to Pradeep Kodippily, spokesman for Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Center. Almost half a million people have been affected by the flooding.

The bout of severe weather has also triggered landslides throughout the country.

The southern coastal city of Galle has seen 223 millimeters (8.78 inches) of rainfall over the past 48 hours, and Ratnapura, further inland, has experienced 453 millimeters (17.8 inches) of rain over the same period.

Police and military rescue teams are moving by boat to rescue those marooned as well as retrieve corpses.

Houses and shops remain submerged in ten to thirty feet of water. The expressway from Colombo to Matara, 100 miles south of the capital, remains flooded in several areas.

A Sri Lankan home is surrounded by floodwaters in the suburb of Kaduwela in the capital, Colombo.

'We could not stand up'

Stonemason Kirindagamage Pathmasiri, another Matara resident, said that the police had urged people to evacuate, but he and his family stayed put as they had nowhere to evacuate to.

"The next day the waters began to rise gradually. Then the flow was so fast that we could not stand up. My wife, four children and I were very frightened. We did not know what would happen to us now. With great difficulty we managed to walk out," he said. They are taking temporary shelter in a school.

He said that his house is now submerged under eight feet of water.

"A bigger shock awaits us when the waters recede and we return home. We have lost all our possessions," he said.

Sri Lankan residents travel by boat through floodwaters in the suburb of Kaduwela in the capital Colombo on May 28, 2017.

Overseas help

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs activated its Emergency Response Unit and called on the United Nations' International Search and Rescue Advisory Group, as well as neighboring countries, to help in the recovery effort. The government has deployed 2,000 military personnel to affected areas.

India has dispatched three naval vessels to its southern neighbor to deliver relief aid and disaster expertise.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately directed provision of all necessary assistance," a statement issued by High Commission of India, Colombo, read.

"He also expressed condolences at the loss of lives and property and said that India stands with her Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in their hour of need."

The navy's official twitter handle posted media of one of the vessels, INS Shardul, docking in Colombo and unloading aid Sunday. It joins the INS Kirch, and a larger vessel, INS Jalashwa, will arrive within the next two days.

The country's High Commission in Colombo tweeted images of "Indian diving and medical teams deployed at Kalutara, Ratmalana (and) Galle with (Sri Lankan) navy relief (operations)."

The High Commission also tweeted an image of the Sri Lankan foreign minister, Ravi Karunanayake, receiving aid from one of the Indian vessels.

"Several countries have responded so far to Sri Lanka's request," Karunanayake told CNN, including Russia and China.

"The World Food Program is also providing help," he said.

Last year, India sent two ships and Air Force aircraft to Colombo with relief items during a cyclone.

"We have a problem of limited resources to cope with the situation," Karunanayake said. "Hence we have made many appeals."

Emergency landing

A Sri Lanka Air Force troop transport helicopter had to make a forced landing into flood waters at Baddegama, near Galle.

"They were on a rescue operation and had no place to land due to a technical glitch," Air Force Commander Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathy told CNN.

A young Sri Lankan flood victim rests at a relief camp after being evacuated following flooding in the suburb of Kaduwela in the capital Colombo.

V
ideo images from the Asiavision Sri Lanka news exchange showed people in streets wading through water that was shoulder-deep in some places. Others showed earthmoving equipment clearing mounds of dirt in areas where landslides had blocked roads.

The monsoon rains are the the worst to hit Sri Lanka since 2003. They come after two months of drought, which had grown severe enough to warrant aid from the World Food Programme.

CNN's Ryan Prior wrote and reported from Atlanta, and Euan McKirdy from Hong Kong. Iqbal Athas reported from Colombo.

CNN's Samantha Beech and Spencer Feingold contributed to this report.