Colombo’s flood woes irk residents, visitors
Shirley WIJESINGHE
COLOMBO: Torrential rains that lashed several parts of the country
for two days heavily affected ratepayers, residents, schoolchildren and
office workers in Colombo.
The Daily News spoke to several visitors and residents in the city to
gauge their reactions to the floods that caused mayhem over two days.
The herbal porridge outlet owner at Lotus Road, P.J.R. Gunathilake
said there were five gullies along the road but only one was in working
order.
No workers have been mobilised by the Colombo Municipal Council to
repair them. This is the worst flood situation that he experienced in
the City in the last 30 years, he recalled.
H.C.S. Perera, a camera shop owner at Prince Street said the city’s
gully network was not capable of handling the heavy intake of storm
water. The limited number of gullies and the lack of supervision on
their cleaning caused the unexpected floods.
“The CMC should study the reasons carefully and think about new
measures to overcome the problem,” he stressed.
Three wheeler driver Wedage Lalith Pushpa Kumara of First Cross
Street Junction said the ad-hoc disposal of waste such as Polythene by
pavement vendors caused the flood problem in the City. Some workmen
remove the gully caps to sell them to foundries, he added.
A dual Sri Lankan-German citizen M. Jeffrey expressing his ideas to
the Daily News said the CMC should have proper country planners.
Many officers who return to the country with modern technical
knowledge on country planning are not applying their knowledge
practically for city development.
Some local bodies nominate politically influential people, most
probably administrators for such study programmes, he said.
“We must learn a lesson from these mistakes. Otherwise no development
can be achieved,” he added.
J.A.P. Chandrasiri, a Government servant who travels daily from
Veyangoda to Colombo criticised the CMC for its weak administration and
the wastage of public funds.
CMC Opposition Leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara said the floods in Colombo
should be considered a real disaster.
“The CMC cannot be solely responsible for the situation,” he said.
“The main drain channels of the Colombo city should be cleared
mechanically on a large scale with the assistance of the Land
Reclamation and Development Corporation. No measures could be initiated
by the CMC unless the main channels are drained.”
Deputy Mayor S. Rajendran said that some complaints about the removal
of gully caps have been made to the CMC by ratepayers and corrective
measures has been taken by the CMC with police assistance. Pictures by
Mahinda Vitanachchci
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Flood relief hotlines
COLOMBO: The Government yesterday announced several hotlines which
can be contacted 24 hours a day by those facing difficulties as a result
of heavy rains, floods and landslides.
Disaster Management Centre:
Emergency Calls - 2670002,
Other Numbers - 2670071
Ext. 231, 232
Fax - 2670079
Deputy Director - 072-3574357
Disaster Relief Services
Ministry: Disaster relief centre - 2431590, 2431579
Secretary to the Ministry - 077- 3292630
These hotlines have been initiated on the directive of President
Mahinda Rajapaksa who has focused attention on the difficulties faced by
the public due to the prevailing harsh weather conditions. |