UNP faults Govt. for not evacuating people

In the wake of the landslide disaster that buried an entire village, the main opposition UNP yesterday in Parliament said the government should be held responsible for not evacuating people from the area despite it being declared a risk zone . Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga, on behalf of his party, expressed his condolences to the bereaved relatives of those perished in the tragedy, the worst ever landslide to the hit country.

However, he found fault with the government for not trying to evacuate these people from the area soon after it was declared a risk zone by the National Building Research Organization (NBRO).

At this point, Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardane confronted Mr. Amaratunga saying the opposition should not work for political ends when a tragedy had struck the country wiping out an entire village."This is a time of sorrow.

The opposition UNP should not try to exploit the situation," he told Mr. Amaratunga. Yet, Mr. Amaratunga persisted with his point that the government should be blamed for not settling these people elsewhere.