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The country is going through one of its periodic flood cycles, resulting in more than 30 deaths and several thousand victims in various districts. This is not a new phenomenon; floods’ recurrence has become a regular feature during monsoon rains.

The inconvenience and disruption of normal life caused by the floods impact mostly the poor and marginalised, who have almost resigned themselves to their fate, although they do find fault with the authorities for doing very little to prevent or mitigate the occurrence of floods.

Whenever these floods do occur, temporary relief is provided by the government’s disaster management services by way of food and temporary shelters. The private sector and well-meaning individuals, too, chip in to minimise the suffering.

Yet the flood victims continue to face the same predicament year in, year out. Sometimes these unfortunate citizens are affected by the floods twice in one year.

These victims often lose their meagre belongings as well as suffer harm to their dwellings, which are often mere apologies for a house. Children who are struggling to keep abreast of their school work find their textbooks and stationery swept away by the floods and have to start their educational journey all over again.

During and after the Aragalaya of 2022, many members of the public called for the replacement of the entire Parliament of 225 because they had failed the country. They said new blood had to be infused into the legislature if the country’s future was to be assured. Others blamed the leaders and governments that were in office since independence for all the ills of the country.

However, such a sweeping generalisation would not be accurate nor fair by many of those who have governed the country since independence. In fact, a fitting reply to such allegations was given in Parliament by Health Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana last month. He presented a long list of positive national achievements, including impressive social indicators in the education and health sectors.

His speech went largely unnoticed, although the national achievements that he cited were quite impressive and gave the lie to the version that there was nothing for the country to gloat about. Most discerning members of the public would agree that many in the current and previous parliaments have struggled to play the role of concerned legislators to the best of their ability.

However, it is probably in the area of flood control that governments and leaders since independence have failed the people or, at the very least, not put sufficient effort into preventing the occurrence of floods.

Over the years, regular floods mainly occurred in the low-lying areas on the banks of the Kelani Ganga, like Wellampitiya, Kollonnawa, and Nagalagam Street; on the banks of the Kalu Ganga in areas such as Horana and Matugama; and also on the banks of the Nilwala Ganga and Gin Ganga in the south.  In urban areas like Wellampitiya and Kollonnawa, the impact of the floods was largely aggravated by irregular and often illegal constructions that resulted in the blocking of water outlets which would have otherwise resulted in the excess water being drained away.

In other areas, the natural wetlands, which were meant to absorb excess water from the rains, were rendered ineffective by illegal constructions that encroached on such natural drainage systems.

Last week, President Ranil Wickremesinghe made a tour of the flood-affected areas in the Kelani Valley. Following his observation tour of the Kolonnawa, Kelaniya and Ambatalle areas, the President issued directions to officials to provide relief to the people in the short and long term.

According to the President’s Media Division, officials had been instructed to refrain from permitting new construction in the Kelani River valley as a measure to regulate river water levels.

The President had also directed that unauthorised landfills not be permitted in those areas and to take measures to shift the Mulleriyawa and IDH hospitals to alternative locations.

Clearly, there is something faulty in the system where the Head of State has to visit flood-affected areas and give instructions to mitigate the situation. The various State arms and relevant ministries should have addressed these issues over the years without the intervention of higher authorities, as they were recurrent problems that affected the people in these areas.

Going by past practice, it is likely that many of these instructions issued last week will be forgotten once the flood waters recede and these unfortunate events occur again.

Another feature that is cause for concern is that new areas are becoming susceptible to floods. For example, Gampaha town and its surrounding areas also flooded this time. The reasons for this seem basically the same as those identified in other locations, namely illegal construction contrary to local government and town planning regulations. The Akurana town in the Central Province, too, was flooded a few months back due to the same reasons, namely, unauthorized construction.

Less than one week after the president’s tour of the flood-affected areas, the government has announced that a new city will be built along the Kelani river bank with comprehensive amenities, including hospitals, schools, and residential complexes. The speed with which these measures have been announced suggests that these decisions have been taken hurriedly without adequate planning, thus rendering their chances of success minimal.

What is needed are not knee-jerk reactions but well-formulated plans that cover the whole country, particularly the flood hotspots, to bring the maximum benefit to the long-suffering people who live in areas that are prone to flooding.

Sri Lanka boasts of a great hydraulic civilisation, and the country’s engineers compare it with the best in the world. There are also many success stories of flood control internationally from which Sri Lanka can learn. The people of Sri Lanka deserve more careful addressing of flood control measures by future governments after years of neglect. (javidyusuf@gmail.com)