A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Back to 500BC.
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Sunday, June 4, 2017
Last week’s disasters in several districts of the country highlighted
just how unprepared Sri Lanka still is to handle such situations.
The local authorities found themselves with little or no resources–no power generators, no communications equipment, no boats, lifejackets or other equipment essential to deal with flash floods and landslides. If any village-level disaster management or preparedness systems were in place, they mostly crumbled under the weight of the natural catastrophes that befell multiple settlements.
The local authorities found themselves with little or no resources–no power generators, no communications equipment, no boats, lifejackets or other equipment essential to deal with flash floods and landslides. If any village-level disaster management or preparedness systems were in place, they mostly crumbled under the weight of the natural catastrophes that befell multiple settlements.
In many areas, it was the military and the various temples that took charge. Ven Puragala Sobitha Thera, the chief incumbent of the Sri Purvaramaya in Gawaragiriya described how he attended to the needs of devotees who moved into the temple. There was no Government support he could speak of.
The village officials were overwhelmed, Ven Sobitha Thera accepted. So
he gathered the people around and set about securing provisions for
them. The roads were inpassable, not only due to floods, but because of
landslides. Even on Thursday, the Army was working to clear the
Horana-Bulathsinhala route.
“They were scared and didn’t know where to go, so everyone came running here,” the monk said. “I had no food to give them. I gathered some young people around and told them to bring everything they could from the shops because we didn’t know what other disaster would take place.”
“They were scared and didn’t know where to go, so everyone came running here,” the monk said. “I had no food to give them. I gathered some young people around and told them to bring everything they could from the shops because we didn’t know what other disaster would take place.”
“They keep asking me now when they can go from the temple and to where,”
he continued. “The children have no school. If necessary, I will start
teaching them here whatever subjects I know. I don’t think the danger
will go away. It will only get worse.”
In every village, people have crowded around their temples. Monks give
them reassurance, protection and solace. They have hiked up their
saffron robes and done everything they can during the disaster.
The danger is not over, officials confirmed, particularly in landslide prone districts. The hills and foothills are unstable and heavy rains will cause saturation and trigger more slips. The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) will conduct investigations within the next few days to identify locations from which families will have to be permanently shifted. But since there is no clear information about rainfall–such as how much and within how many hours–many people have been advised to move into safe locations.
The danger is not over, officials confirmed, particularly in landslide prone districts. The hills and foothills are unstable and heavy rains will cause saturation and trigger more slips. The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) will conduct investigations within the next few days to identify locations from which families will have to be permanently shifted. But since there is no clear information about rainfall–such as how much and within how many hours–many people have been advised to move into safe locations.
It
has long been reported that the NBRO has produced maps categorizing
areas as high, medium and low risk. Last week’s landslides occurred in
both high and medium hazard zones. “We need to implement recommendations
for each zone,” said Senarath Bandara, Director of the Landslide
Research and Risk Management Division. Many high hazard zones are
heavily populated with houses and these must be relocated.
The NBRO has issued early warnings. But dissemination to grassroots level was not under their purview. As with many previous disasters, a large number of affected people claimed they hadn’t been told to shift.
Ironically, Sri Lanka already has a Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) to cover the period 2014-2018. It was produced with technical assistance from the UNDP. It also has a roadmap, a National Disaster Management Policy and a Disaster Management Plan. And, yet, last week saw 211 deaths, 72 missing and 91 injured due to floods and landslides.
The NBRO has issued early warnings. But dissemination to grassroots level was not under their purview. As with many previous disasters, a large number of affected people claimed they hadn’t been told to shift.
Ironically, Sri Lanka already has a Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) to cover the period 2014-2018. It was produced with technical assistance from the UNDP. It also has a roadmap, a National Disaster Management Policy and a Disaster Management Plan. And, yet, last week saw 211 deaths, 72 missing and 91 injured due to floods and landslides.
The objectives of the CDPM are listed as building capacity at
institutional and individual levels; integrating risk information-based
approaches in the development agenda; preventing and mitigating impacts
of frequently occurring disasters on life and property; improving
coordination of stakeholder groups (public, private, NGOs and others);
enhancing response capacity at all levels; adopting an integrated
monitoring and evaluation and a reporting system; and effective
knowledge management in disaster risk reduction.
But while the plans–and copious amounts of literature–are in place, Sri Lanka continues to fail in implementation.