President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasised that a unified operational mechanism, which goes beyond the normal state administration, is required to restore public life after a disaster.

The President stated this while participating in the Kandy District Coordinating Committee meeting held at the Kandy District Secretariat on Saturday  (06).morning

During the meeting, the President separately reviewed the progress of the programmes underway to restore essential infrastructure in the district, including the roadways, electricity, water and fuel supply, irrigation systems and communication facilities.

The President instructed officials to utilise the allocated provisions for the next 25 days to complete road clearing activities swiftly, until the permanent reconstruction of roads is completed.

The President also instructed that water supply in the district be fully restored within three days. Until then, the water requirements of the public should be met through bowsers and such activities must be carried out as an emergency measure beyond the usual procedure, with technical support from the Tri-Forces.

Further, he instructed that the cleaning of household wells be carried out under the coordination of Divisional Secretariats and that electricity supply in the district be restored by 31 December through temporary repairs, while major reconstruction work will be carried into the second phase.

The President pointed out the need to identify arable lands and give priority to cultivation. He instructed that cultivable paddy fields be identified urgently and supplied with the required irrigation water and highlighted the importance of coordinated action by the Department of Irrigation, Provincial Irrigation Department and the Department of Agrarian Development.

He also instructed officials to expedite the payment of the Rs. 200,000 compensation allocated to identified farmers and fields and to submit a report on the extent of vegetable cultivation affected in the district within two weeks. Accordingly, Rs. 150,000 per hectare will be paid as compensation to the affected vegetable farmers and necessary amendments will be made to provide the same compensation for losses incurred in banana cultivation.

The impact on the livestock sector due to the disaster was also broadly discussed. The President highlighted the need to maintain updated data regarding the number of farms and livestock.

He explained the need to restart damaged livestock farms swiftly, to restore income sources for the farmers and to meet the country’s food needs, including milk, poultry and eggs.

Discussions were also held regarding restoring fuel supply in the district. Due to road blockage, fuel supply has been disrupted in Pussellawa and Meetalawa. The President instructed that, through coordination between the Road Development Authority, the Tri-Forces and the Police, fuel be supplied to these areas by Saturday [06] evening.

The resumption of schools in the Kandy District was also discussed. The President instructed officials to minimise delays in reopening schools to ensure that examinations are held as scheduled.

The President also examined in detail the steps taken to restore the district’s health services, railways and communication facilities.

Discussions were held regarding housing damage and the resettlement of affected people. The roles of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau and the required staffing needs were considered.

The President stated that state-owned lands in adjacent areas will be identified and presented for resettlement activities and necessary interventions will be made to release such lands through discussions with relevant institutions.  He emphasised that the government’s objective is to resettle people safely and continuous assessment must be carried out to ensure that compensation provided for destroyed and partly damaged houses is used properly for reconstruction.

As all compensation payments will be made under the 2025 Budget, the President stressed the need to complete all payments before 31 December, to avoid a burden on the 2026 Budget. He said the dedication of all state officials is essential to successfully implement the programmes initiated to restore public life.

Attention was drawn to the garbage disposal problem in Gampola. As a long-term solution, the President instructed that, until the relevant Mahaweli land is released, land belonging to the Ceylon Electricity Board be temporarily allocated for the purpose.

Attention was also paid to the damage caused to state institutions due to the disaster situation.

While noting that natural disasters such as floods, storms and landslides cannot be prevented, the President emphasised that the loss of lives and property can be minimised. He stated that a proper study of the Central Highlands is needed and a long-term plan must be prepared to restore the eroding ecological system.

He further highlighted the need to enforce the powers of local authorities to prevent similar disasters in the future, stating that no room should be given for illegal constructions hereafter. He also noted that Ceylon Electricity Board should not provide electricity to such unauthorised locations.

The President stated that although some expected it would take a long time for the country to recover after the disaster, the government has already been able to restore public life to normalcy within a very short period. He added that by working together for a little longer, the desired goals can be achieved.

The President expressed special appreciation for the dedication shown by state officials and the Tri-Forces in carrying out these tasks.

Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation K.D. Lal Kantha, Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena, Deputy Minister of Health Hansaka Wijemuni, Members of Parliament Jagath Manuwarana and Thanura Dissanayake, as well as Central Province Governor Professor Sarath Abeykoon, Chief Secretary G.H.M.A. Premasinha, Kandy District Secretary Indika Udawatta and officials representing all line agencies including the Road Development Authority, Ceylon Electricity Board and the Irrigation Department attended the occasion.

England batted against type and belatedly produced a rearguard, but it was in vain as seamer Michael Neser justified his contentious selection with a five-wicket haul to lead Australia to a crushing second Test victory.

Just six days in, Australia have a stranglehold of an Ashes series that is quickly becoming decidedly one-sided. But they were made to work on day four with England skipper Ben Stokesand Will Jacks stonewalling for almost half a day in a 96-run seventh-wicket partnership lasting almost 37 overs.

But Neser, surprisingly selected ahead of offspinner Nathan Lyon, dismissed both batters as England quickly fell away much like they have done numerous times in this series. Neser was sensational on the back of a deadly spell with the pink ball under lights on day three.

Rescue teams and volunteers have been struggling to assist millions of people affected by floods and landslides in parts of Asia, as the official death toll from the ongoing climate-fuelled disaster has climbed to more than 1,750 people in the worst-affected countries of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

In Indonesia, at least 908 people were confirmed dead and 410 were still missing, according to the latest data on Saturday from the island of Sumatra, where more than 800,000 people have also been displaced.

In Sri Lanka, the government has confirmed 607 deaths, with another 214 people missing and feared dead, in what President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has called the country’s most challenging natural disaster.

The floods also caused at least 276 deaths in Thailand, while two people were killed in Malaysia and two people died in Vietnam after heavy rains triggered more than a dozen landslides, according to state media.

On Indonesia’s Sumatra, many survivors were still struggling to recover from the flash floods and landslides that hit last week as Indonesia’s meteorological agency warned Aceh could see “very heavy rain” through Saturday, with North and West Sumatra also at risk.

Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf said response teams were still searching for bodies in “waist-deep” mud.

However, starvation was one of the gravest threats now hanging over remote and inaccessible villages, he said.

“Many people need basic necessities. Many areas remain untouched in the remote areas of Aceh,” he told reporters.

“People are not dying from the flood, but from starvation. That’s how it is.”

Entire villages had been washed away in the rainforest-cloaked Aceh Tamiang region, Muzakir said.

“The Aceh Tamiang region is completely destroyed from the top to the bottom, down to the roads and down to the sea.

“Many villages and sub-districts are now just names,” he said.

In Sri Lanka, where more than two million people – nearly 10 percent of the population- have been affected, officials warned on Friday of continuing heavy rains causing new landslide risks.

Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said more than 71,000 homes were damaged, including nearly 5,000 that were destroyed by last week’s floods and landslides.

The DMC said on Friday that more rain was expected in many parts of the country, including the worst-affected central region, triggering fears of more landslides, hampering cleanup operations.

Last week’s flood came as two typhoons and a cyclone swept through the region at the same time, causing heavy rains, which experts told Aljazeera are becoming more likely due to climate change.

Illegal logging, often linked to the global demand for palm oil, also contributed to the severity of the disaster in Sumatra, where photographs of the aftermath showed many tree logs washed downstream. Indonesia is among the countries with the largest annual forest loss due to mining, plantations and fires, and has seen the clearance of large tracts of its lush rainforest in recent decades.

Indonesia’s Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said on Friday that his office was revoking the logging licences of 20 companies, covering an area of ​​750,000 hectares (1.8m acres), including in flood-affected areas in Sumatra, Indonesia’s Antara news agency reported.

Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq also “immediately” halted the activities of palm oil, mining, and power plant companies operating upstream of the disaster-hit areas in northern Sumatra on Saturday, according to Antara.

The Batang Toru and Garoga watersheds are strategic areas with ecological and social functions that must not be compromised,” Hanif said.

Febi Dwirahmadi, Indonesian programme coordinator for the Centre for Environment and Population Health at Griffith University in Australia, told Al Jazeera that rainforest cover “acts like a sponge” absorbing water during heavy rainfall.

Following deforestation, which is also contributing to making climate change worse, there is nothing to slow down the heavy rainfall as it enters waterways, Dwirahmadi said.