• Rs 11m housing options rejected 
• PM instructs to proceed per law  

Flooding at the National Hospital in Colombo during recent heavy rains has been linked to an unfinished drainage project on the Norris Canal, which remains blocked by eight houses, officials said yesterday (10). They added that the Government would proceed under the Land Acquisition Act to clear the obstruction.

Officials told the Colombo District Coordination Committee, presided over by Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarauriya, that a new drainage route had been built along the Arnold Ratnayake Mawatha toward the Beira Lake to address the Norris Canal's insufficient discharge capacity. However, the project stalled 100 to 150 metres short of completion because eight structures occupied the stretch.

A sudden, intense downpour on 6 November dumped up to 150 millimetres of rain on Colombo within a few hours, triggering severe flash floods across the commercial capital. The deluge submerged major transit routes, trapped thousands of commuters, and even inundated the ground floors of the Hospital. While central water levels receded after a few hours, the crisis exposed severe structural issues, with the authorities identifying 60 major drainage blockages caused by plastic waste and illegal construction.

The residents had earlier been offered alternative housing valued at Rs five million, which they rejected, and a later offer of houses worth about Rs 11 million was also declined, officials said. “Since these residents refuse to vacate even after being allocated housing options, we will proceed under the said Act,” an official told the meeting. Premier Dr Amarasuriya responded: “Let us proceed accordingly under the Act.”

Meanwhile, Cabinet of Ministers Spokesperson and Health Minister Dr Nalinda Jayatissa, speaking at the weekly Cabinet media briefing on the same day, said that cleaning work along the Norris Canal at the Hospital premises was continuing, but that efforts to relocate the occupants remained unresolved despite the Rs 11 million offer.

The Committee heard that National Water Supply and Drainage Board and electricity utility pipes and lines running beneath drainage channels trapped debris. “In some locations, entire mattresses have been found trapped inside Municipal drainage lines,” the officials said, adding that widening surface drains would be ineffective unless underground obstructions were cleared simultaneously. Officials said that residents of informal settlements along canal banks frequently dumped garbage into waterways, citing the absence of collection routines suited to working households.

The Premier called for a task force comprising the Colombo Municipal Council, the District Secretariat, the Urban Development Authority, the Police and the Armed Forces. “This is not a task that the Council can solve alone,” she said, adding that a joint meeting on 13 November would make binding decisions on removing unauthorised constructions obstructing drainage networks.