• Joint operations centre to restore normal life after Cyclone Ditwah
•  Multi-agency team to coordinate disaster recovery efforts
• Prabath Chandrakeerthi appointed Commissioner General

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed the establishment of an 'Office of the Commissioner General of Essential Services', centred on the Prime Minister's Office, under the leadership of the Director General of Essential Services, to carry out necessary work to restore the lives of people affected by the natural disasters caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

A team of officers representing the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation, Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, and the institutions operating under them—including the Railways Department, Irrigation Department, National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Ceylon Electricity Board, Road Development Authority, Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation—as well as the Tri-Forces, will be assigned to the duties of the centre. The President emphasised that its activities must function as a joint operations centre, coordinating and providing facilities across all institutions.

President Dissanayake gave these instructions during a discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat last morning (30) to examine urgent measures for restoring normal life after the disaster.

On 29 November, Secretary to the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Prabath Chandrakeerthi was appointed as the Commissioner General of Essential Services. The appointment was made under Regulation 11(1) of the Emergency (Miscellaneous Provisions and Powers) Regulations, No. 1 of 2025, empowering him to execute and coordinate all activities related to the maintenance of essential services.