Govt. To Put In Place A Landslide Mitigation Programme

• Families Affected By Landslides To Be Relocated

By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema

The government is to commence a landslide mitigation programme covering the three districts in the Central Province at a cost of US$ 50 million.
The Disaster Management Ministry is to commence the programme with foreign funding by the end of the year when necessary safety precautions and landslide warning systems would be put in place in the areas prone to landslides.
Field reports and surveys are currently being prepared by the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) to be handed over to the Disaster Management Ministry.
The government meanwhile, is in the process of allocating lands for the relocation of the landslide affected families.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week ordered that 200 acres in the Galaha area in the Kandy District belonging to the JEDB be released to relocate the families affected by landslides in the District. The recent heavy rains resulted in 334 families being affected by landslides and facing the threat of landslides in the Kandy District alone.
Badulla, Nuwara Eliya and Matale Districts were also affected by landslides due to the adverse weather conditions experienced in the country a few weeks back. In the Badulla District, 2863 families were affected by landslides while 586 families were moved to welfare camps and in the Nuwara Eliya District 781 families were affected and 48 families were provided shelter in welfare centers.
The Presidential Task Force on disaster management and relief that met last Tuesday (15) has decided to give priority to the relocation of families affected by landslides and those living in landslide prone areas. Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said the government is keen to carry out the relocation of families affected by landslides at the earliest, as it was necessary to be prepared to adverse weather conditions that could trigger landslides.
“The Survey General has already been asked to measure the lands and block them in order to hand them over to the families,” he said. However, he added that some families in the Kandy District that are to be relocated are not agreeable to shift to the government designated land in Galaha. “Some families are not happy to be relocated too far from their current locations and have asked for places that are not too far. There are some families who have agreed to be relocated to the land allocated in Galaha,” he said. According to Amaraweera, the government is also looking for state lands that are located in other safe areas to relocate the people who do not wish to shift to Galaha. The district secretariat has been asked to identify possible lands that could be used for the relocation.
Amaraweera also chaired a meeting last week at the Kandy District Secretariat to discuss issues related to landslides caused by heavy rains in the district. He said that the government wanted to address the landslide issue as an important matter that need to be addressed soon.“The government will provide the necessary infrastructure facilities and help build the houses for the relocation purpose,” he added. Meanwhile, the NBRO has identified 24 schools in the Kandy and Matale Districts that face the threat of landslides. These schools would either have to be relocated or the necessary safety precautions have to be put in place. Minister Amaraweera said that while some schools may have to be relocated, the NBRO has said that some could remain if the necessary safety precautions are put in place.
“We have asked for a full report and the estimates to either relocate or put in place the necessary safety precautions, so we can do what is required,” he said.
The funds to help the schools under threat is to be allocated by the Education Ministry and the Disaster Management Ministry.
Once the NBRO report is received, the Education Ministry is to submit a Cabinet paper seeking funds for the relocation of the schools that need to be shifted while the Disaster Management Ministry would put in place the safety precautions for the remaining schools. Amaraweera also said that until the landslide mitigation programme is put in place by the end of the year, the government would carry out the relocation programme and put in place safety precautions where ever they are necessary.