A lawyer residing in the Kandy area has filed a Fundamental Rights Petition with the Supreme Court seeking a ruling that the government has violated his fundamental human rights by failing to take necessary steps to mitigate the damage caused by Cyclone Ditva.
The petition was filed by lawyer Keerthi Bandara Kiridena and named the Attorney General, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and members of the Cabinet, and members of the National Disaster Management Committee as respondents on behalf of the President.
The petitioner has stated in his petition that his law office is located adjacent to the Kandy Court Complex and that the office was completely destroyed due to the recent cyclones and floods.
As a result, he states in his petition that a lot of important data on his computer system has been destroyed and that he has suffered a great loss to his career.
The petitioner points out that such a disastrous situation arose due to the negligence or dereliction of duty of the respondents regarding the measures to be taken before a disaster occurs and that if they had taken precautions, the possible damages could have been minimized.
The petitioner states that if steps had been taken to inform the public before the release of water from the Kotmale reservoir, the massive damages caused by the floods in the areas of Gampola, Galaha, Peradeniya and Kandy could have been minimized.