Govt. to introduce new disaster relief mechanism

By Ashwin Hemmathagama Our Lobby Correspondent

The Government is looking at introducing a new national policy and a better system to face disaster situations effectively and successfully. 

The proposed policy will help to train people with necessary knowledge to reduce the effect of the disaster, conduct emergency missions, search operations, rescue operations, providing relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in response to a question raised by UNP MP S. M. Marikkar during the ‘Ask the Prime Minister’ session explained to Parliament the urgent requirement to have a better and more effective system in place to face disaster situations. “I have discussed with the Minister of Disaster Management, evaluating the technology and the equipment we have with us in case of a disaster. We need new technology and knowledge. Due attention was also paid regarding a systematic method to face a disaster situation,” said Wickremesinghe.

In the absence of a proper channel of communication, disaster management has become a key issue, according to the Prime Minister. 

“Our attention was given to a system to provide correct information during a disaster. Certain media establishments continued to provide news, which worsened public life. We saw the same during the recent Salawa incident. Irresponsible news leads to a deterioration of the situation. We will employ latest technology during a disaster,” he said.