Effective coordination among all institutions essential for relief and restoration of normal life – President
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake highlighted the importance of prioritising relief and rescue efforts for people affected by the disaster, while also giving utmost attention to restoring essential infrastructure and public services. He emphasised that a well-coordinated, unified operation involving all relevant institutions is necessary to achieve this.
The President made these remarks during a discussion held yesterday morning (30) at the Presidential Secretariat with relevant line ministries and institutions, focusing on restoring public life and essential infrastructure following the disaster. Attention was particularly directed towards the rehabilitation of main and secondary roads, drinking water facilities, irrigation systems and railway tracks and services.
The discussion addressed the urgent need to repair highways, railway lines and bridges damaged by the disaster, to restore the transport system to normal functioning. The meeting also included a comprehensive review of identifying all affected roads and developing preliminary action plans for the rehabilitation of railway lines and services.
The first step in restoring all infrastructure, the President noted, is damage assessment. Simultaneously, he instructed that available resources, both physical and human, should be identified to support the reconstruction work.
The challenges and obstacles arising during these operations were also extensively discussed, with the President ensuring that feasible solutions were provided for the issues raised.
Secretaries of the central ministries of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government; Transport, Highways and Urban Development; Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation; and Housing Construction and Water Supply; along with heads of institutions including the Sri Lanka Railways, Department of Irrigation, National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Ceylon Electricity Board, Road Development Authority and Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation, as well as senior officials representing the Tri-Forces, participated in the discussion.
