Kelaniya residents call for permanent solution
Angered and frustrated by repeated ejection from their homes, the disruption to their lives and personal property damage due to annual flooding in May, residents who live on the Kelaniya river banks say the government should seek permanent solutions to this devastation.
For three days now, the residents of Biyagama and Kaduwela have sought refuge in schools and temples as usual, abandoning their homes.
Once again in May, they are facing damage to their personal possessions and repair bills, which they say they can not afford.
The chief monk of the Biyagama Bodirajaramaya, Balangoda Seelarathana Thera told the Sunday Times that 140 people have taken shelter in the temple. Many of the people are lodgers in Kelaniya.
He said the government must now provide water and pay the electricity bills.
W P Ranasinghe, who has sought shelter in the temple, is a lodger who lives on a nearby lane. He is also caring for a sister who is disabled below her waist.
He had been in Kelaniya only four months and is employed at a rubber plantation. The owner of the plantation had provided a house for free but it is inhabitable and gets flooded, he said.
“I was not told that the house gets flooded, otherwise we would have found a house elsewhere. We moved to Kelaniya from Kegalla, Aranayake because we had a land dispute,’’ he said.
Mr Ranasinghe also said he earns Rs 450 a day.
He complained that his house has been wrecked and that the owner expects him to do the repairs.
His disabled sister, W.P Dayawathi said that she depends entirely on her brother.
“When I heard that our house will also be flooded, I felt helpless because I cannot move. Luckily, our neighbours carried me on a chair. I could have become trapped inside the house.’’
Resident, Manel Ariyawathie, 55, a retired municipal council employee who sells king coconuts for a living, said that her house is also under water. She and her family had been at the temple for four days.
“I have four sons. One is unable to speak,’’ she said. She can not afford to repair the damage caused to her house every year from flooding.
“Last year we bought a new television and a radio. Now both of them are under water,” she complained. She fears the worst about her household goods and her family’s clothing.
“We have suffered flooding over our lifetime, but governments have not taken action to move us to a safe place. We can’t find other locations because we have financial difficulties,” she said.
P K S Chamila, a flood victim who has taken refuge at Munidasa Kumaranatunga Vidyalaya, said that his wife and two children occupy a small space in a school hall. For privacy they have hung up saris.
“Every year this has become a routine. The rains come and we get displaced for a few weeks. And then we spend a fortune to repair the damaged house. I am a labourer. I can’t continue to do this. I will go anywhere if the government provides us a place to live,’’ he said.
For the moment, he is unable to go to work, because he said he cannot leave his wife and children at the refugee camp.
At Kaduwela, 1,099 houses have been partially damaged, while 544 people out of 4,356 have sought refuge.
The divisional secretaries, grama Niladharis, and government officials are providing relief at the temporary centres.
The grama niladhari of Bomiriya, Kelaniya, A.B.B Anuruddika, said that there are two camps in Kaduwela. She said that there are 39 families at Munidasa Kumaranatunga Vidyalaya at Pahala Bomiriya, while 17 more families are at Goonasekeraramaya Temple at Bomiriya
She had arranged to provide cooked food and goods donated by the public.
The displaced cannot return as their homes go under water at night.
“We respond to the needs of flood affected people, but we need a permanent solution for those who live along the Kelaniya riverbanks,’’ she said.
Meanwhile, the secretary to the Pradesheeya Saba, N.W.R Nishanthi, said members regularly visited the affected areas and provided meals and necessities. She said that the government has to find a long-term solution for people who are repeatedly facing floods.
She also added that the people also request land in Kaduwela, but that there is no government-owned land.
“The central government should look into the issue since the people are suffering from floods repeatedly,” Ms Nishanthi said.