politicians to get  flood relief. The Govt. instead of distributing the food and aid received to the various areas affected by floods and through the District Secretaries and officials , which was the normal practice , are being kept in the houses and places selected by the Govt. politicos . Consequently ,flood victims , not enough the suffering they faced by floods , are  made to go from door to door of the Govt. politicos to collect the aid provided by the WFP for the people’s benefit.

For the last 16 years , it is this govt. which was in power . Hence it must take full responsibility for this devastation . Allowing its politicos  and henchmen to engage in illegal filling of lands and erecting buildings without proper Town planning had led to this disastrous situation .Even when there is a normal rain , Colombo and its roads get flooded. The Govt. which is fully aware that every year the poor masses suffer because of the floods which are an annual feature , did nothing to rectify the situation , he pinpointed.

In 2003 when the UNP Govt  led by Ranil Wickremesinghe was in power , the worst floods in SL’s history ravaged the country.  The UNP leader took immediate measures and provided relief promptly to the victims by declaring it a national disaster . He deployed all the resources and world aid Organizations and ensured every victim is provided relief irrespective of race , religion and political affiliations . The present floods which were  not as  devastating as that of 2003 , has caused more sufferings to the victims because the Govt. and its  Minister in charge Basil Rajapakse had not ensured the aid is directed to the right places or properly distributed. Finally , the aid has ended up in shops and shelves of  traders , he lamented.  Let the Govt. be reminded that it was the UNP leader who first introduced world food program to aiding SL in its disasters, he pointed out.