December 08, Colombo (LNW): Close to a thousand schools across nine provinces have suffered disruption following a spell of severe weather, according to the Ministry of Education’s Secretary, Nalaka Kaluwewe.
He confirmed that roughly 100,000 pupils have been affected, with some facing prolonged travel difficulties while others have seen their classrooms damaged or repurposed for emergency use.
Despite the scale of the impact, the ministry has opted to resume lessons in communities that escaped the worst of the weather, with a phased reopening planned for 16 December. Kaluwewe said an official notice outlining the specific schools and regions involved would be released on Monday or Tuesday.
He added that arrangements are already under way to reschedule the A/L examination papers that were postponed, with the revised sittings expected to take place in January 2026.
Widespread Weather Disruption Forces Schools to Adjust Schedules
Northeast monsoon conditions over the Island: Fairly heavy falls above 50 mm expected (Dec 08)
December 08, Colombo (LNW): The Northeast monsoon conditions are gradually establishing over the island, the Department of Meteorology said in its daily weather forecast today (08).
Showery weather condition is expected to enhance over Northern, North-central and Eastern provinces from tonight.
Showers will occur at times in Northern, North-Central, Eastern and Uva provinces. Fairly heavy falls above 50 mm are likely at some places in Batticaloa and Ampara districts.
Showers or thundershowers may occur at several places in the other areas of the island after 1.00 p.m.
Misty conditions can be expected at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces during the early hours of the morning.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimise damages caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Marine Weather:
Condition of Rain:
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the sea areas off the coast extending from to Pottuvil to Kankasanthurai via Batticaloa and Trincomalee. Showers or thundershowers may occur at few places in the other sea areas around the island.
Winds:
Winds will be north-easterly or variable in the sea areas around the island. Wind speed will be (25-35) kmph. Wind speed can increase up to 45 kmph at times in the sea areas off the coast extending from Colombo to Pottuvil via Puttalam, Kankasanthurai and Trincomalee.
State of Sea:
The sea areas off the coast extending from Colombo to Pottuvil via Puttalam, Kankasanthurai and Trincomalee will be fairly rough at times. The other sea areas around the island will be slight to moderate.
Where Every Hand Lifted in Mercy, One Rose in Malice: The Lone Vote of Shame at the Third Reading of the 2026 Budget
By: Roger Srivasan
The tragedy that struck our nation — a deluge of almost biblical proportion — left millions shattered.
Homes vanished beneath rising waters, livelihoods were swept away, and entire communities were
plunged into despair. As Sri Lanka grappled with the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, the President
rose above politics with an act of statesmanship and compassion: a proposal embedded within the
Third Reading of the 2026 Budget to deliver urgent relief to every family devastated by the floods.
In a special statement to Parliament, the President outlined the gravity of the catastrophe and
submitted a supplementary estimate of Rs. 50 billion — a lifeline intended to stabilise and rebuild
shattered communities. It was a moment that demanded unity, humanity, and moral clarity.
Parliament answered that call.
Every single Member of Parliament — across party lines, ethnic identities, and political loyalties —
voted in favour of the relief package.
Every member except one.
Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, with chilling sangfroid and betraying not the faintest flicker of
empathy, cast the lone dissenting vote against providing relief to suffering citizens. Even seasoned
observers of parliamentary drama were stunned. This was not a mere political miscalculation. It
was a moment of profound moral collapse — where indifference triumphed over compassion, and
ego eclipsed humanity.
For a man who claims to champion Tamil rights, it was an unforgivable betrayal.
What makes this moment even more disturbing is that it follows, in rapid succession, another act of
political treachery. Barely a week earlier, Shanakiyan Rasamanickam had provoked the fierce wrath
of the Tamil community for conduct equally tone-deaf, self-serving, and disastrously misaligned with
the people’s suffering. Instead of learning from Shanakiyan’s humiliation, Ponnambalam chose to
walk the same path — as though competing for the honour of who could fall the furthest from the
people’s trust.
Two betrayals. Two reprobates. One week.
Through their arrogance and political blindness, these two Tamil politicians have created a
leadership vacuum. And vacuums never remain empty. New Tamil representatives — emerging
from the President’s movement and demonstrating compassion, unity, and genuine public service
— are poised to rise in their place.
If this trajectory continues, both Ponnambalam and Shanakiyan stand on the brink of losing their
parliamentary seats at the next election. Not because rivals defeated them — but because their
own people abandoned them.
Leadership is sacred. In moments of national tragedy, it becomes a moral obligation.
To vote against relief for a nation in anguish is indefensible. To do so with chilling detachment,
unmoved by human suffering, is monstrous. It reveals a heart untouched by compassion, a mind
clouded by ego, and a soul unmoored from humanity.
History will honour the President for his benevolence. It will remember Parliament for its unity. But it
will not forget the lone dissenter — the man who stood against compassion, against relief, and against humanity itself.
Nor will it forget the one who fell before him.
These two politicians have sealed their fate. When the next parliamentary election dawns, the Tamil
people will deliver their verdict — calm, resolute, and unmistakably clear:
Those who betray us in our darkest hour do not deserve to represent us in the light.
Tamil Nadu Extends Vital Humanitarian Support to Flood-Affected Communities in Sri Lanka
December 07, Colombo (LNW): In a significant gesture of solidarity, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M.K. Stalin, has donated dry rations and essential supplies to assist communities affected by the recent floods in Sri Lanka.
This timely humanitarian aid is deeply appreciated and is expected to bring urgent relief to thousands of vulnerable families.
This is not the first instance of Tamil Nadu’s compassion toward Sri Lanka during times of crisis. During the height of Sri Lanka’s economic downturn, Stalin extended substantial support by donating 40,000 metric tonnes of rice, 500 metric tonnes of milk powder, and 100 metric tonnes of medicines, reflecting Tamil Nadu’s enduring commitment to its neighbours in need.
During a recent visit to Tamil Nadu following the Ditwah cyclone, discussions were held with senior Tamil Nadu government officials who expressed strong enthusiasm and readiness to support the humanitarian vision of the Chief Minister. Their collaboration has been pivotal in ensuring the successful coordination of the latest relief effort.
Special appreciation is extended to the following officials for their dedication and facilitation:
Mr. Muruganantham, IAS – Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu
Mrs. Rita Harish, IAS – Public Secretary, Chief Secretariat, Tamil Nadu
Mr. Vallalar, IAS – Commissioner, Overseas Tamils Welfare Commission, Tamil Nadu
Hon. Abdulla and Mr. Puhazh Gandhi, Members of NRT
Their commitment has been instrumental in turning this humanitarian initiative into reality.
Gratitude is also extended to His Excellency Santhosh Jha, Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, and to officials from the Ministry of External Affairs of India and the Indian High Commission in Colombo for their continuous support and facilitation throughout the process.
Additionally, sincere appreciation is conveyed to Vijitha Herath, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Ganesanathan, Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Chennai, for their prompt and effective cooperation during this critical hour.
President Urges Accurate Data for Timely Compensation
December 07, Colombo (LNW): President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has emphasised that government officials must provide precise and reliable data when making economic decisions and planning recovery initiatives.
He made the remarks while addressing the Matale District Coordinating Committee meeting yesterday afternoon.
Highlighting the urgent need for post-disaster support, the President instructed authorities to ensure compensation for damaged agricultural land is fully disbursed by December 30.
He stressed that careful verification is essential so that aid reaches only those farmers who are genuinely eligible, underlining the importance of accuracy and accountability in public service.
Post-Cyclone Supply Shocks Expose Weak Links in Export Economy
By: Staff Writer
December 07, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s export sector is grappling with a new wave of pressures after Cyclone Ditwah triggered widespread disruptions across supply chains, raw-material zones, and industrial districts. Although the Export Development Board (EDB) projects that earnings could climb to USD 16–17 billion in 2025—one of the strongest performances in years—the cyclone has exposed structural weaknesses that threaten long-term growth.
The country had only recently begun shaking off a decade-long stagnation, with exports stuck between USD 13–15 billion. New policy reforms, revived advisory committees, and performance-linked targets created optimism for expansion toward the USD 20 billion mark. But the disaster has hit several pillars of export production: tea factories lack power, cinnamon and coconut plantations face crop losses, rubber tapping has slowed, and apparel factories in flood-affected districts have suspended operations.
Even exporters outside the disaster-hit zones are experiencing delays due to damaged transportation networks, which have slowed container movement to ports. Rising logistical costs and disrupted supply timelines have already prompted concerns from foreign buyers, especially in apparel and rubber-based industries.
The cyclone’s impact is particularly severe for small and medium exporters, who make up the majority of the export base but lack the financial resilience of larger firms. Many SMEs report machinery damage, flooded warehouses, and the loss of raw materials. Without concessional financing or targeted recovery grants, some may not return to full capacity for months.
Still, the EDB argues that the overall trajectory remains positive, pointing to expanded product development, new export-market access, and stronger engagement with overseas missions. The government is also preparing a major industrial exhibition to attract international buyers. But experts warn that promotional efforts alone cannot offset production-level vulnerabilities.
The cyclone has reignited debate over the country’s dependence on traditional exports—tea, garments, rubber, cinnamon—and its slow pace in diversifying into high-value sectors such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, and advanced manufacturing. The disaster also underscored the absence of climate-resilient infrastructure in export-dependent districts, despite repeated environmental shocks.
Economists note that reaching USD 20 billion in exports will require more than targets and marketing campaigns. Sri Lanka must urgently modernise logistics, improve rural transport, support SME upgrading, and integrate disaster-risk management into export-sector planning.
Cyclone Ditwah may have interrupted momentum, but it has also provided a defining opportunity: to rebuild the export sector with resilience, diversification, and stronger foundations—or risk another lost decade.
Cyclone Tests Resilience of Sri Lanka’s Tourism Backbone
By: Staff Writer
December 07, Colombo (LNW): Cyclone Ditwah has delivered a sharp blow to Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, exposing long-standing vulnerabilities while simultaneously demonstrating its remarkable capacity for quick rebound. Though over 25,000 tourists arrived during and after the disaster, the uneven impact on hotels, infrastructure, and coastal destinations underscores the need for comprehensive climate-resilient planning across the industry.
Hoteliers in the Southern and Eastern coastal belts report extensive damage: washed-out beach fronts, water-damaged ground-floor facilities, destroyed landscaping, and significant losses in back-of-house machinery. Several boutique hotels between Hikkaduwa and Tangalle remain partially closed, while eco-lodges in riverine areas have suspended operations due to safety concerns. Industry associations warn that repairing damaged properties could take months, affecting room capacity and seasonal earnings.
Yet the influx of tourists has not collapsed. With arrivals surpassing 2.1 million by November and the month’s 212,906 visitors marking a five-year high for November performance, the sector’s revival momentum remains intact. Colombo, in particular, has absorbed diverted tourist flows, with high-end hotels maintaining 70–75% occupancy even amid the crisis. The awarding of Five-Star certification to Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams highlights the capital’s growing role as an urban leisure and MICE destination.
The disaster, however, has spotlighted gaps in emergency readiness. Many hotels lacked comprehensive disaster-response protocols, while some coastal regions faced delays in relief access due to damaged roads and communication blackouts. Tourism experts argue that without updated evacuation plans, stronger early-warning systems, and mandated climate-resilient hotel standards, future disasters could trigger far deeper economic shocks.
Sri Lanka Tourism officials emphasise that recovery efforts are already underway. Short-term steps include rapid hotel inspections, emergency repair grants, and re-establishing travel confidence through transparent communication with source markets. International campaigns are being prepared to reassure travellers that the island remains open, safe, and operational.
Long-term planning aims to reposition Sri Lanka as a climate-resilient destination. This includes coastal protection engineering, green hotel certification programmes, diversification into inland and niche tourism products, and strategic promotion of Colombo as a year-round entertainment and convention hub. The cyclone’s aftermath has become an inflection point: policymakers must now embed climate adaptation into tourism development rather than treat disasters as temporary setbacks.
The sector’s path forward depends on how swiftly damaged regions are restored and whether lessons from Cyclone Ditwah can reshape the industry’s preparedness. Sri Lanka’s tourism backbone has held firm but its future resilience hinges on structural reforms that match the private sector’s determination.
Government Relief Funds Under Fire amid Massive Recovery Shortfall
By: Staff Writer
December 07, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s post-cyclone recovery now hinges on a critical financial debate: whether the Government’s newly presented relief plan—outlined by the President in Parliament—can realistically rebuild homes, livelihoods, and the vast public infrastructure destroyed by Cyclone Ditwah and subsequent floods and landslides. The Government insists its allocations are adequate, yet mounting evidence and parliamentary scrutiny paint a more uncertain picture.
During the debate on compensation and rebuilding support, Committee on Public Finance Chair Harsha de Silva urged the administration to divert Rs. 500 billion—currently earmarked for the retirement of treasury bills in 2026—towards urgent reconstruction. He argued that the Treasury has the legal and fiscal flexibility to postpone debt retirement, particularly when thousands of families remain displaced and economic activity in several districts has ground to a halt.
According to de Silva, the Government had originally advised banks to maintain over Rs. 1 trillion in emergency reserves. However, only half of that amount has been set aside for debt payments. “This is clearly not the moment to prioritise reducing a decimal fraction of interest,” he cautioned, emphasising that every rupee now should support rebuilding homes, restoring livelihoods, and compensating businesses—especially MSMEs facing a debt burden approaching Rs. 1 trillion after years of economic volatility.
The President’s financial plan includes allocations for house repair grants, livelihood assistance, and emergency clean-up operations. Yet, questions loom over whether the proposed spending matches the scale of destruction. Initial government estimates place total losses between $3 billion and $6 billion, but no definitive assessment has been issued. A World Bank-led damage evaluation is expected within two weeks, likely to provide the first credible figure. If losses are closer to $6 billion (about Rs. 2 trillion), current allocations appear far from adequate.
Compounding concerns is the Public Financial Management Act, which sets a primary expenditure ceiling of 13% of GDP for 2026 in line with IMF commitments. While de Silva acknowledged this limit, he pointed out that the law allows exceeding the cap during emergencies—making expanded public spending legally permissible if the Government chooses to act decisively.
Meanwhile, around Rs. 50 billion remains unspent from the 2025 Budget’s emergency funds. De Silva argued these could be mobilised within weeks for immediate relief. He also criticised the standard Rs. 25,000 compensation payment as outdated, suggesting it be doubled given recent inflation, rising construction costs, and the severe material shortages in flood-affected districts.
The President’s plan aims to restore normalcy, but without clearer damage assessments, transparent budget priorities, and a willingness to adjust fiscal commitments, Sri Lanka risks underfunding its recovery at the very moment citizens need the State most.
Cyclone Havoc Exposes Deep Fragility in Sri Lanka’s Tea Economy
By: Staff Writer
December 07, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s tea industry, already battling falling export volumes and escalating production costs, has suffered one of its worst setbacks in years following last week’s cyclone, with industry leaders warning that the road to recovery will be long, costly and highly uncertain.
Preliminary assessments show extensive destruction of machinery, access roads, tea-processing facilities and worker housing across multiple tea-growing districts. Officials from the Colombo Tea Traders Association (CTTA) revealed that more than 30 major tea-exporting companies, responsible for roughly Rs. 110 billion in annual export earnings, have experienced some level of operational disruption.
According to CTTA Chairman Lushantha De Silva, these exporters may take two to three weeks to resume partial operations, but the damage to high-value machinery especially tea-bagging and withering equipment could take months to restore.
“Sri Lanka does not have the technology to repair most of these specialised machines. They will have to be sent overseas, and that creates delays and enormous costs,” he said, adding that the government must “step in decisively” to help the industry recover.
The disaster struck at a time when the industry was already under pressure. Latest figures from the Sri Lanka Tea Board show that tea export volumes for January–October 2025 fell to around 205 million kg, down from 212 million kg in the same period last year, while export earnings rose only marginally to US$1.27 billion due to higher global prices rather than improved output.
The cyclone now threatens to widen this gap, with logistics bottlenecks and damaged infrastructure expected to suppress export performance over the next quarter.
Estate-level devastation is still being counted. Early regional reports indicate that over 6,000 hectares of plantations suffered varying levels of soil erosion, landslides, uprooted tea bushes and debris damage. Several elevations remain inaccessible, delaying a full assessment of losses.
Tea estate owner Samantha Dodangoda noted that while the cyclone may not cause an immediate collapse in production, labour shortages are emerging as a serious challenge. “Tea pluckers are scared to return to the slopes after seeing the landslides. Safety concerns will slow the process for days,” she said.
Dodangoda warned that the collapse of rural road networks poses a bigger threat than field damage. With at least 120 rural access roads blocked or destroyed in tea-growing areas, transporting green leaf to factories and finished tea to ports has become extremely difficult. “You can’t keep these roads closed forever, but rebuilding will take time,” she added.
Industry analysts argue that the government must urgently launch a national tea sector disaster-recovery plan, including concessional financing for machinery repairs, a compensation scheme for affected estates, emergency road reconstruction and climate-resilience measures to protect high-risk plantations.
Without swift intervention, Sri Lanka’s already vulnerable tea export sector—one of the country’s top foreign-exchange earners could face a prolonged setback with ripple effects across rural livelihoods and the broader economy.
SLTB Limits Use of Train Season Tickets to Areas With Suspended Railway Services
December 07, Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) has clarified that passengers with monthly train season tickets may use them on SLTB buses only in regions where rail services remain curtailed or fully suspended following recent disruptions.
The Board reported a rise in attempts by commuters to use rail passes on buses operating along routes where train services have already returned to normal, prompting the reminder.
In a related move, the National Transport Commission (NTC) has arranged special morning buses for tomorrow on the busy Kandy–Colombo corridor to ease passenger congestion.
NTC Chairman P.A. Chandrapala confirmed that travellers will be allowed to board these additional services using their train season tickets, given the temporary strain on the rail network.
Meanwhile, the Department of Railways has turned its focus towards a significant infrastructure concern in the Peradeniya area. Plans are being considered for the construction of a new double-lane railway bridge over the Mahaweli River, after engineers determined that the existing structure has deteriorated beyond practical repair.
General Manager of Railways, Ravindra Padmapriya, stated that a final decision on the matter is expected tomorrow, noting that a replacement bridge would be essential to ensure long-term safety and uninterrupted rail operations.