When roads became rivers

• Relief begins aft
  er devastating flood
• How they saved Kalutara
• Maligawatte victims go to Premadasa again
• What caused the Colombo deluge

Relief begins after devastating flood

Faraza Farook and Nilika de Silva

Some 250,000 people were left homeless and eight were killed in the floods which devastated several districts in the country.

According to reports, Ratnapura and Gampaha were the worst affected.

While some of the flood victims sought shelter with friends and relatives, others were temporarily housed at temples, schools and other buildings.

When asked on what basis money was being allocated to the flood victims, Deputy Director of Social Services Department, N.D. Hettiarachchi said divisional and district secretary had been briefed on what to do.

Ratnapura's Additional District Secretary P. Samarawickrema said dry rations and cooked food were being provided to victims at refugee centres and shelters.

Ratnapura town had been under eight feet of water on Tuesday and Wednesday but now the flood level is receding.

Giving a breakdown of families affected, he said, Elupatha had 4100 families, Kuruwita-1000, Ayagama- 700, Kalawana- 600, Nivitigala- 600, Palmadulla- 500, Kiriella- 388 and Ehaliyagoda-21.

District Secretary, Kurunegala Parakrama Ekanayake said the situation in the district was not serious. All the victims were provided with dry rations while families at Alawwa were given cooked food.

The Kalutara District was also severely affected. Horana reported 1561 families stranded, while at Milleniya it was 1000, Mathurawela- 500, Agalawatte - 35, Beruwela- 13 and Kalutara-10.

Kalutara was one of the many areas where boat services were made available due to the disruption of road transport.

The train services were also halted, and as a result attendance in offices was low. Some offices closed early.

Divisional secretariats, police stations and hospitals in some areas too have been affected.

Hospital officials in Galle, Colombo and other areas affected by the floods said that the staff turn out was low.

According to reports, the Hiniduma and Nagoda areas were still heavily flooded.

Transport was disrupted in the Tawalama-Udugama road which was under 12 feet of water. A police station in the area too had been flooded.

Mapalagama, Elpitiya, Baddegama and Udugama were other areas in Galle that were under water.

P Kariyawasam in charge of the traffic section at the Automobile Association said most roads were now safe but the Wellawaya road in the Koslanda area is said to be in a dangerous condition. He said that no information could be obtained from this area.

Traffic was disrupted on the Ingiriya-Ratnapura road at Horana, in the Horudanda area, Horana-Anguruwatota raod, some areas in Yala, the Horana-Panadura road and the Kiriella-Nambapana road, where the water levels were up to three feet even on Friday.

In Colombo, although the water level has now gone down in most areas, Horton Place, D. R. Wijewardene Mawatha, Jawatte Road, Duplication Road, Vajira Road and the Mahanama College area were all under water on Wednesday.

How they saved Kalutara

By. H.P.P. Perera

A catastrophe was prevented in flood-hit Kalutara, when civic conscious people took timely action under the direction of the Government Agent worked to widen the mouth of the Kalu Ganga.

With the water-level rising in the Kalu Ganga from midnight on Tuesday, work on widening the mouth of the river was begun to avoid a major flood in the Kalutara district, said Kalutara Government Agent A.I Wickrama.

The mouth of the Kalu Ganga has been widened 70 feet under the supervision of the engineers of the Department of Irrigation when the water-level of the Kalu Ganga was about four feet above sea level, he added.

According to reports more than 3,587 people have been rendered homeless in the areas coming within the Madurawala, Dodangoda, Mellaniya, Agalawatta, and Beruwela divisional secretariats. Steps have been taken to provide dry rations and other essentials to the affected families, officials said.

Maligawatte victims go to Premadasa again

If Presidnet Premadasa is best remembered for his housing projects such as those at Maligawatte to provide shelter for all, then it was not surprising that when Maligawatte went under water last Tuesday it was the nearby Premadasa Stadium that provided a temporary shelter for thousands of poor people.

The Sunday Times spoke to stranded families in the Colombo district. Many were sheltered at sports stadiums, temples, schools and community centres. Though many had experienced a similar situation in 1992, it was a harrowing experience to the others.

Irene lives in the National Housing scheme at Maligawatte. But right now Irene is at the Premadasa Stadium. With her are thousands of others driven out of their homes by the floods, brought on by the heaviest rains Sri Lanka has seen in the last thirteen years.

Reliving her experiences of the night of the 20th, Irene, a mother of three spoke of how it had rained the whole night through. Around 1 a.m the whole family had been forced to come out onto the road because the house was flooded and they could no longer remain inside, she said. And when morning came, they sought help from former Mayor Karu Jayasuriya to open the stadium gates and accommodate the flood victims.

Irene's seventy-five-year-old mother with nothing but a thin cotton saree to keep her warm in the windy stadium said, "I didn't know anything of what was happening because I was asleep, and they had to carry me out of the house when they were leaving. In '92 when the floods came it was here that we stayed for seven days."

The temporary shelter at the Premadasa Stadium did not fully ease the problem because many who had lost their homes did not know where to go next. Compensation when paid would help, but from experience the people know it will not be a large sum.

"If they see the state of our house, they should definitely give us compensation," says Nayana (39), a mother of three who was also from the Maligawatte Housing scheme. "This time the situation is terrible, all the walls have cracked," she said. Nayana said that bread, coffee etc. were given to them at the stadium.

Nayana's nephew, Philip Ruwan, aged five, looked at us in wonder. He didn't seem to fully comprehend why overnight his living quarters had changed from a house to a sports stadium. "I came here with my mother," was all he said.

Philip Ruwan's mother, Preethika (30) explained that they live on Bodhiraja Mawatha. "The last time, we spent, bit by bit, from our pockets and gradually repaired our houses. This time that won't be possible because the damage is much greater," she said.

It appears that rain or shine loyalties don't change, and a pet will never be forgotten even in the midst of a crisis. This accounted for the many dogs huddling close to the families. It was in reality a situation where the warmth generated from staying close to one another made a difference.

Forty-two-year-old Lalitha Jayakody is a tea packer. Lalitha is right now at the stadium together with her four children and her dog. "How can we leave the dog behind?" she asks. "Anyway he just follows us wherever we go," she said.

"The water level has not yet gone down in the houses. There is water upto the waist. In '92 also we were here. It will be over in about four days, I believe. These floods are not new around these parts. However well you build in Maligawatte when the rains comes everything is gone. Since I was two-years-old I have experienced this, we used to stay in temples and other places then," said Lalitha.

Flood waters and rains do not make a distinction. It is not just the able bodied men and women who face the hardships. The old and frail and the helpless infants, they are all sufferers, when an insufficient drainage system fails us in our hour of need.

At Ranpokuna Lane, we spoke to several families who had to wade more than knee-deep in water to get into their houses. Most of them had sent their children away to safe places like the temple afraid that they would catch some illness. But the adults had waited to look after whatever valuables remained in the houses.

Twenty-eight-year-old Mohamed Riyal Rameeza is a housewife and the mother of three. Rameeza said the menfolk couldn't go to work due to the floods. She said there was no milk for the children. "We have put up a little ledge (messa) to put the children to sleep on. The adults will somehow manage, it is the small children we are worried about," Rameeza said.

Though relief measures have been taken by the government, not many were happy with it. They felt that there was so much more that needed to be done, and that in reality they were all alone in their distress.

Nimal Siripala (42) said, "If it rains tonight, once again the water level will increase. It has to be sunny to get over this problem. The canal and the road are at the same level, that is why the water level does not drop. Our house is totally under water. The only way around this problem is to construct drains under the roads and divert the excess water directly into the sea," he said.

K.A. Sudesh (33) a Colombo Municipal Council worker said the problem had been aggravated by the fact that although earlier only 765 houses existed on this property today there are more than 25,000 houses in this scheme.

Similar sentiments are shared by people in other quarters too.

What Sundari Abeywickrema living on Flower Terrace cannot understand is why little or nothing appears to have been done over the past 30 years to update the drainage system.

During the torrential rains on Tuesday night Sundari had been all alone in her house. The lights had gone off very early in the night and she had to clear the whole house by candlelight, perching everything that was placed at a low level on the top of almirahs.

She had even to move mattresses and other heavy objects to prevent them being submerged in water.

Sundari's house had been under two and a half feet of water. She says, "I don't know how I got the strength to keep on working all by myself through the night."

What caused the Colombo deluge

By Shelani de Silva

In the city in the after math of last Tuesday's deluge which turned several city roads into rivers, experts have identified the construction of buildings without conforming to environmental and drainage laws as the main cause of the flooding.

The Sunday Times learns that buildings have been constructed over sewerage lines. These unauthorised buildings cause a major problem during heavy rains, as experienced last Tuesday. It is also learnt that on many occasions officials are not permitted to inspect the premise before or after construction.

Last Tuesday's downpour was almost as severe as the floods which hit Colombo in 1992. Six years the main cause was the poor drainage system which resulted in some 300,000 people being left homeless. The floods did not spare even the elite in Colombo.

Tuesday's floods were seen by many as a result of the CMC not taking proper measures despite the experience in 1992. Some residents also said bribery and corruption played a role in passing plans which did not conform to regulations.

CMC Chief Engineer H. Gunesekera told The Sunday Times the council had effected many improvements in the city during the past three years.

"We got down the jetting machine which is used to clean the under ground drainage system, without resorting to manual labour. Even when road development has taken place the drainage system is done in the correct manner. The internal system is properly maintained," he claimed.

Mr. Gunasekera said that another reason for flooding was the removal of the guard cover of the drains leading to the underground system.

'This is done by drug addicts, which result in polythene bags and sand going into the underground drains. Filling of marsh land in Colombo also contributes to it," he said.

Wijeweera widow wooed by PA

Apparently fearing a tough challenge from the JVP in the upcoming Southern election, the People's Alliance is reported to be soliciting support from the slain JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera's widow Chitranganee.

The Sunday Times learns that Ms. Wijeweera, came to Colombo for a meeting last Wednesday at Temple Trees with a Cabinet minister, a deputy minister and Presidential Secretary K. Balapatabendi. It was not clear whether the PA was trying to get Ms. Wijeweera to contest on the party ticket or only to speak at election rallies.

Navy headquarters yesterday confirmed that Ms. Wijeweera was brought to Colombo .Ms. Wijeweera and her six children have been living in China Bay under Navy security for the past seven years.

Reacting to these reports, JVP spokesman Wimal Weerawansa told The Sunday Times that Rohana Wijeweera's widow had sworn she would not enter politics but now it appeared that a bankrupt PA was trying to lure her because it feared a major challenge from the JVP in the south.

Asked whether the JVP would approach Ms. Wijeweera for support, he said the party would not stoop to such levels. Meanwhile former JVPer and Wijeweera confidant Ariya Bulegoda, who is known to be moving closely with the PA now, said if Ms. Wijeweera wanted to enter the political mainstream, she should be free to do so.

Ms. Wijeweera prior to her meeting with Mr. Balapatabendi, had met Minister Mahinda Rajapakse for more than an hour. Discussion at the meeting had centered on the welfare of her six children.

Mr. Rajapakse told The Sunday Times that she had requested the government to make arrangements for her family to live in Welisara.

(See also Political Column)

Athas case: Air Force officers indicted in High Court

The two Air Force officers allegedly involved in the attack on Sunday Times Consultant Editor and Defence Correspondent Iqbal Athas have been indicted in the Colombo High Court.

The two officers have been indicted on charges of criminal trespass and criminal intimidation by unlawfully entering the residence of Mr. Athas and threatening him at gunpoint to cause fatal injuries.

Colombo High Court Judge Andrew Somawansa allowed cash bail for Squadron Leaders H. M. Rukman Herath and Don Pradeep Sujeewa Nanayakkara.

The case is to be called on May 11.

Twelve persons, including a prison guard and two CID officers, have been listed as witnesses in the case.

UNP not giving up Central Province

By M.Ismeth and Shane Seneviratne

Though the PA's Sarath Ekanayake was on Friday sworn in as Chief Minister of the Central Province, the UNP group is still staking a claim.

UNP group leader Keheliya Rambukwella who polled the third highest number of preference votes in the country though being in remand, said he had held talks with the CWC-led coalition which holds the balance of power with six seats.

The PA won 26 seats and the UNP 23 in the 58 members council, thus giving the CWC coalition a vital role as a power broker.

Mr. Rambukwella said he had met CWC General Secretary Arumugam Thondaman and the outcome of their talks was favourable. But Mr. Thondaman told The Sunday Times his party would take a decision at a meeting today and he did not wish to comment any further.

The JVP has one seat in the council and the Upcountry People's Front, allied to the PA has two.

Mr. Rambukwella said he was confident the CWC which contested under the banner of the National Union of Workers would throw its weight behind the UNP from which it had got a better deal. But he did not say whether the CWC was making any demands.

Two more mass graves in east – MP

By Frederica Jansz

Skeletal remains from the alleged mass grave around the Duraiyappa Stadium in Jaffna have been flown to Colombo to be examined by the country's top judicial medical expert, while a TULF leader has alleged there are two more mass graves in the east.

Consultant Judicial Medical Officer Dr. L.B.L. De Alwis who is examining the bones said he had received three parcels from Jaffna and would begin the analysis in a day or two.

TULF member Joseph Pararajasingham told parliament that in addition to the recent mass grave discovered near the Duraiyappa Stadium in Jaffna, two more existed in Batticaloa.

He told The Sunday Times that the bodies of more than 300 men, women and children lay in a gravel pit close to the army camps at Navalady and Satukondan. Mr. Pararajasingham said there were people ready to give evidence that the remains of 339 villagers killed in September 1990 were buried at these two sites.

He said the graves in Batticaloa held the bodies of 148 youth taken from the Eastern University at Vantharumoolai in Batticaloa by personnel of the Sri Lanka Army on September 5, 1990, and 191 villagers rounded up four days later from the villages of Satukondan, Kokkuvil, Pannichaiyadi and Pillayyardy.

Asked if he knew where the LTTE had buried some 600 Sinhalese policemen murdered in 1990 and other Tamil youth massacred because they belonged to rival Tamil groups, Mr. Pararajasingham said he was not aware. Meanwhile, Jaffna's Judicial Medical Officer Dr. Sri Rajeswaran said it appeared from the evidence now available that the grave around the Jaffna Stadium was extensive, and he had asked the government to send a forensic expert, a geologist and the Government Analyst to help exhume and identify the remains.

Dr. Sri Rajeswaran said the excavated bones were fairly brittle but he could not say how long they had been there. Some reports from Jaffna suggested the bones were about 10 years old — covering the period when the Indian Peace Keeping Force was operating in Jaffna.

According to some Jaffna residents, the IPKF maintained an investigative and interrogation unit near the stadium and the area was covered by a scaffolding. The people then thought the Indian Army was using this area for cooking purposes.

Laabai Pajero laabai

Top officials of the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs are receiving an extravagant bonus on their retirement, with their official vehicles reportedly being sold to them at a grossly undervalued price.

The Sunday Times learns that a Mitusubishi Pajero is due to be sold to the official using it, for Rs. 85,000, while the cost of sprucing it up, including new upholstery and tinkering which came to over Rs. 350,000, was met by the Ministry. That means at public expense.

The Pajero bearing number 32 Sri 0900 was seen outside a cushion upholstery workshop, Wijerama, Nugegoda.

The Sunday Times learns that this is not the first time such a bonus has been given at public expense.

An officer who retired last year bought his official vehicle, a Nissan Sunny for Rs. 55,000, while sprucing up costs again were very high. An officer who retired in 1994 also bought his official car at a price far below its market value.

Meanwhile, vehicles needing minor repairs are run on the road until the problem becomes worse and the repairs amount to a large sum.

At the moment there are seven such vehicles at the ministry needing repairs which are not being attended to.

Questions are being raised as to why this is being done and whether someone in the Ministry has something to gain by these practices.

The picture of the jeep was captured while it was parked in front of a cushion upholstery workshop in Nugegoda.

New Mayor comes in with the floods

By Kumaradasa Wagista

Colombo was under one of its worst floods when new mayor Omar Kamil took his oaths as the city's 23rd First Citizen. Naturally, Mr Kamil's first offical act was to tour the flood-affected areas in Borella, Wanathamulla, Dematagoda, Narahenpita and Colombo North where he took steps to provide cooked meals, dry rations and medical aid to the victims.

Mr. Kamil, a businessman, has been in municpal politics for more than two decades. He succeeds the immensely popular Karu Jayasuriya who resigned to take over as opposition leader of the Western Provincial Council.

Several other MMCs are also expected to resign soon to take seats in the provincial council. They include Ananda Vasantha Nanayakkara, K. B. Lilantha Fabian Perera, Jayantha de Silva, Joseph Charles, Nauzer Fowzie, Wimal Weerawansa and Dr Wickremabahu Karunaratna. Another vacancy has been created with its youngest Councillor M. A. Kanishka Nadishan Perera being unseated for not attending three consecutive general meetings without obtaining leave from the Council. According to informed sources Mr Perera has migrated to Australia. He is the grandson of a former Mayor and Minister M. Vincent Perera.

Vasu to run for presidency

By Shelani de Silva

Parliamentarian Vasudeva Nanayakkara, who dramatically crossed over to opposition benches on Wednesday, has decided to form a new people's force named Democratic Peoples Congress and will come forward for the next presidential elections.

Mr. Nanayakkara told The Sunday Times his new congress would include social forces from both the PA and the opposition parties.

He pointedly referred to ministers such as Mahinda Rajapakse who he felt is still standing by socialist principles of the PA but he said he had still not directly approached Mr. Rajapakse for support.

Meanwhile, the LSSP which suspended Mr. Nanayakara ten days ago has yet to begin a formal inquiry which could lead to his expulsion form the party and parliament.

LSSP Leader and Minister Batty Weerakoon said the governing body had yet to meet to decide on the procedure for the inquiry but for the moment Mr. Nanayakkara remained suspended.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle told The Sunday Times the PA could take disciplinary action against Mr. Nanayakara once the LSSP completed its inquiry.

Mr. Nanayakara told The Sunday Times that he had not received any official letter regarding the inquiry.

Meanwhile the ruling party is facing a delicate problem after Mr. Nanayakara's cross over and DUNLF parliamentarian's Ravi Karunanayake's decision to act independently in the House. With these changes the PA stands technically as a minority party, having 111 seats and other parties combined 114. However the Tamil parties in most cases have voted with the government.

CBK, Mangala taking over SLFP

Major changes are likely in the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party with President Chandrika Kumaratunga taking over as the president and Minister Mangala Samaraweera replacing the long-serving Dharmasiri Senanayake as general secretary, party sources said. When Ms. Kumaratunga takes over, it will mark the end of ailing premier Sirimavo Bandaranaike's uninterrupted and unchallenged rein over Sri Lanka's leading party for nearly four decades. At a recent meeting, the party's policy-making central committee decided to to revamp the party's grassroots structure and organisations in preparation for upcoming elections.

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