Koslanda tragedy Planters Association to allocate land, UDA to build new houses

The Planters' Association (PA) of Ceylon, which represents all the regional plantation companies (RPCs) including the disasterstruck Maskeliya Plantations, said on Monday that it was identifying land for the victims of the Koslande landslide on which houses will be built by the Urban Development Authority (UDA).

In a media announcement, the PA "reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to assist other estate residents living in areas facing the danger of landslides, with the co- operation of the relevant government authorities".

The statement said that following a cabinet decision after President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit to the disaster site, the roles of the various stakeholders have been defined, in which the RPCs have been tasked with identifying alternate land for the construction of new houses for estate residents living in areas demarcated as landslide-prone by the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO). According to the cabinet decision, the construction of the houses will be undertaken by the UDA under the 50,000 housing units development scheme referred to in the Budget proposals.

"While by no means devaluing the lives that were lost, the Planters' Association notes however that the true scale of the number of casualties and those unaccounted for is significantly lower than initially reported.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has now revealed the casualties of the incident; six people are dead, and 32 unaccounted for (according to a Special Situation Report released on 3rd November at 12 noon)," the statement said.

The association also expressed its deep gratitude and appreciation to all those who ensured that the needs of people displaced by the incident were met, and those assisting in the search operation for people who may have been buried by the landslide.