2026-08-04 දින නිකුත් කරන මාධ්‍ය නිවේදනය

Wanted Dam(n) Engineer Dead or Alive

Spillway gates of Kothmale Dam were opened at 3:00pm on 03 August 2026 (Monday) after only a very short notice

The spillway gates were opened at 3:00 pm on Monday, 3 August 2026, after only a very short notice. In my opinion, providing such limited advance warning before releasing a significant volume of water is totally inadequate and does not allow sufficient time for residents, businesses, schools, and emergency services in downstream areas to prepare or take appropriate safety measures.

At the time the spillway gates were opened, many schoolchildren would have been on their way home, looking forward to a simple meal after school, not a hot lunch, but perhaps just rice and pol sambol (පොල් සම්බෝල). Certainly, they would not have been expecting McDonald’s, potato chips or pizza. Meanwhile, their parents were likely still at work.

In some households, only elderly grandparents, pregnant women, mothers caring for young children, or families caring for elderly persons with disabilities may have been at home. Some of these people may not have had smartphones or any practical means of receiving a WhatsApp message or SMS alert. Many elderly people have limited mobility, rely on wheelchairs or walking sticks, or have visual or hearing impairments.

For such vulnerable people, receiving a message” should not be considered the same as receiving an effective warning”. They need sufficient time to understand the danger, seek assistance, collect essential medicines, such as tablets for high blood pressure and diabetes, and other necessities, and evacuate safely to a suitable location. A warning delivered only a short time before the spillway gates are opened may therefore provide little or no meaningful opportunity for them to protect themselves.

In my opinion, a warning period of only two hours is wholly inadequate to protect vulnerable members of the community and does not reflect good practice in dam emergency management.

In my opinion, providing only two hours’ notice on a working day demonstrates a serious failure to protect the public. If this inadequate warning had resulted in loss of life or serious injury, those responsible could potentially face legal and regulatory consequences. Public authorities have a duty to provide timely, effective, and accessible warnings that allow all members of the community, including children, older persons, and people with disabilities, sufficient time to respond safely.

Just imagine the plight of those displaced by the sudden release of water. Elderly parents, pregnant women, mothers with toddlers and young children may have had to spend the night in an open Bana Maduwa (බණ මඩුව) at a temple, possibly sleeping on a cement floor or, if they were fortunate, on a thin mat, surrounded by mosquitoes and exposed to the risk of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue.

Is this simply their fate (පූරුවේ පාප කර්මය), carried over from a previous birth?

Or is it the consequence of inadequate emergency preparedness and a failure to provide sufficient warning and safe evacuation arrangements by the responsible authorities, including the Mahaweli Authority, once upon a time a prestigious government?

These are not merely statistics or numbers in a flood report to the Cabinet of Ministers. They are vulnerable human beings whose safety and dignity should be at the centre of dam emergency management. No family, whether poor or rich, should be placed in such circumstances when adequate planning, timely warning and proper evacuation arrangements could substantially reduce their suffering.

A two-hour warning is, in my opinion, wholly inconsistent with good dam safety and emergency management practice and should never be regarded as an acceptable standard.

I humbly urge the Authorities to treat these people as members of our community, with dignity, compassion and respect, and not simply as numbers to be recorded in reports and statistics. Behind every number is a human being, a family, and a life that may be profoundly affected by decisions made in the name of dam and flood management.

Thank You

Bandula Kendaragama (බන්දුල කෑන්දරාගම)

Bandula.Kendaragama@gmail.com

WhatsApp +61403204066

04 August 2026