News
Residents ponder lives and property ruined by flood devastation in Kolonnawa
View(s):By Kasun Warakapitiya
Kolonnawa residents are still dealing with the messy aftermath of the severe flooding that shattered their lives.
The toilets were flooded while some houses still remained underwater, even though residents returned to clean them up and salvage their possessions.
The Sunday Times witnessed residents cleaning up their houses, drying off furniture, and discarding muddied clothes and items soaked in flood water mixed with toilet pit overflows.
While the elderly and youth expressed anger over the flood devastation, some children were seen using barrels and other containers to catch fish in the brackish, polluted waters.
Pic by Priyanka Samaraweera
E.L.D. Nilani Anushika, 41, is a resident of Salalihini Mawatha, and she lives with her three children. She said the floods destroyed most of her children’s belongings, including school books, clothes, and electronic items.
A single mother, Anushika is forced to salvage the usable items and clean up the house.
“We live in this house for rent. My eldest son dropped out of school without sitting the Advanced Level exam so that he could provide for me and take care of his eight-year-old younger brother and five-year-old sister,’’ she said.
She complained that when she rented the house, the owner did not warn her about the flood risks. Now, she has no choice but to continue to stay and pay the rent with the money that her manual worker son earns.
She is only one of the thousands of victims of flooding in Kolonnawa, a low-lying area that goes underwater even during average rain. The worst affected are Kotuwila, Megoda Kolonnawa, and Uthuru Angoda. Here, the people live in damp houses that are not recommended for living.
Residents were forced to clean up their houses to regain their disrupted lives after spending nearly a week in schools and temples.
The flood water was receding only at a slow rate.
Resident Pattiyagamage Ramani Peiris, 52, said her house and her husband’s small retail shop were inundated. She said they discarded Rs. 50,000 worth of goods from the shop.
Ms. Peiris said their houses got easily inundated as the low-lying areas have been filled up to build more and more houses, shops, and structures.
“The land around the marsh has been filled up. The canals, too, are blocked, and the authorities have not cleared them,’’ she said.
Sanitation became a nightmare for desperate flood-hit residents.
“We don’t have clean water or food. The sink is covered with mud, and the toilets are flooded, yet we remain here to protect our house,’’ resident Thilaka Munasinghe said.
She said her husband and children refused to go to a safe area and instead stayed at the neighbouring two-story house as they feared their belongings would be stolen.
Some people were unable to move furniture and electronic items to safety. They returned to an ugly, muddy mess.
Resident G.D. Indula Sanjeewa, 56, said that most of his expensive equipment had been destroyed.
He said his wife had been deceived by the house owner, who had not told her about flooding in the area when he sold it.
“The government announced a mild flood, so I did not consider the warning serious. However, when the rain came, it was too late to remove the electronic items, the couch and settee,” he said.
Even daily wage earners had to give up work and lean up their wrecked homes.
Mason Susantha Prasad Gamage said his house was four feet underwater over the past few days.
“How can I work? My house is a mess, and the garden and ornamental plants are destroyed. It will take weeks for me to restore the damage,’’ he said.
Resident A. Kankanamge, 65, said that the government should make policy decisions to relocate the people badly affected by severe flooding.
Kolonnawa Divisional Secretary P.S. Priyanath Perera said most displaced residents had returned to their homes by Friday.
Kolonnawa, in the immediate suburb of Colombo City, had become a basin due to illegal construction.
He said that by Friday, the Kotuwila Gamani school and the Parama Dharmodaya Vihara at Wellampitiya were accommodating only about 100 people.
Four medical camps have been set up as health officials warn of the risks of leptospirosis, dengue, and skin ailments.
The divisional secretary said illegal settlers who have built houses have destroyed the natural marshy land that once absorbed and retained water from Colombo. He called on the government to take a policy decision to remove the illegal settlers from the marshes and resettle them in the highlands to restore the marsh as a flood-retention area.
Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation Chairman Hiran Balasuriya said canals and culverts had been cleared, but the Kelani River water overflowed onto the roads, lanes, and bylanes.
He admitted that illegally built houses and buildings were obstructing the water flow and urged the local authorities to remove the illegal settlers.
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!