Kajimawatte residents demand relocation from land of infernos

Despite media reports- which claimed that residents had been relocated to temporary shelters- the majority of the residents were busy looking for any belongings they could possibly recover among burnt houses

• There seems to be no solution for those who have been displaced
• The tri-forces arrived and attempted to douse the fire as much as possible
• Last year around 28 houses were burned down in this manner

For residents of Kajimawatte in Thotalanga a rapidly raging fire is not a new experience. In fact, the inferno on Tuesday has been the third instance in which they encountered such a disaster. This time over 80 houses were gutted, displacing over 200 families. But even after the previous three occasions, the residents had put up their shelters at the same location. Despite media reports- which claimed that residents had been relocated to temporary shelters- the majority of the residents were busy looking for any belongings they could possibly recover when the Daily Mirror visited the location the following day. Many of them were under a tent, recollecting how the fire had started, what time it happened, what they were doing at the time, how they rescued themselves with some even confronting law enforcement officers to plan how to relocate those displaced. 

“No solutions for the displaced”- Bandara 

The fire had started around 7.25pm on Tuesday night just after Saman Jayantha Bandara had returned home from work. “As soon as I returned home I heard a noise. Then I saw a fire raging through the houses. Subsequently gas cylinders were exploding and we had no way of separating the houses. After around 40 minutes the fire brigade arrived and it took a long time to fix the fire dousing equipment. Some pipes had no pressure. By that time at least half of the houses were gutted. The tri-forces arrived and attempted to douse the fire as much as possible. The fire spread rapidly and people were trying to save their belongings,” Bandara recalled.
Despite media reports claiming that those displaced have been relocated to temporary shelters, Bandara had a different story to narrate. “There’s no solution for those who have been displaced. Some media reports state that they were given temporary shelters, but these reports are false. They have had two sleepless nights. The officials should at least look at relocating the families to the flats. All these issues are a result of discrepancies in authorities,” said Bandara. 

Some  media reports state that they were given temporary shelters, but these  reports are false. They have had two sleepless nights. The officials  should at least look at relocating the families to the flats,” - Saman Jayantha Bandara

“I had no time to save my belongings” - Subashini

The dimensions of these houses are around 100 square feet and there are around 3-6 people living in them. They thrive on their daily earnings and for the past two days they haven’t been able to go to work. Residents of Kajimawatte claim that their children don’t have IDs, licences and no revenue licences to purchase a vehicle etc. 
Subashini had been at her house at the time and she had had no time to save her belongings. With her two children she had rushed off to save their lives. “Since the day of the fire we have been out here. Some families were sent to the nearby temple and the others to the community hall with the intervention of the Grama Niladhari. We request the government to provide us with permanent shelters as soon as possible,” said Subashini. 

Since the day of the fire we  have been out here. Some families were sent to the nearby temple and the  others to the community hall with the intervention of the Grama  Niladhari” - Subashini 

“Relocate us to a safer place” - Nahida 

The houses are in fact makeshift shelters made of wooden planks. On one side of Kajimawatte around four houses were left undamaged. “This is the third time we encountered a fire,” said Fathima Nahida. “So whenever there’s a fire we quickly remove the wooden planks and shift our belongings to a safer place. It’s a risk to be residing here any further. Last year around 28 houses were burned down in this manner. We request the government to relocate us to a safer place. We survive on contract work and for the past two days we have been unable to go to work because of this incident,” said Nahida. 

So whenever there’s a fire we quickly  remove the wooden planks and shift our belongings to a safer place. It’s  a risk to be residing here any further,” - Fathima Nahida

Cause of fire unknown

On the day of the incident around 12 trucks had been dispatched by the Fire Brigade to douse the fire. “The Government Analyst’s Department is conducting investigations to find out the cause of the fire,” said Chief Fire Officer at the Colombo Municipal Council’s Fire Service Department P. D.K A Wilson. “The fire was reported around 7.30pm on Tuesday night and we immediately dispatched the trucks. But since these are low income settlements there was a problem with regard to access. Hence there was a slight delay in reaching the site. But we were able to douse the fire within around one and a half hours,” said Wilson. 

CMC providing meals

Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake said that steps have been taken to provide meals and other necessities to the displaced people until a decision is taken regarding relocating those affected to safer environments. 

“Residents to be relocated over the next few weeks” - Ranaweera

Following the incident President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is on an official visit to Japan, had instructed President Secretary Saman Rathnayake to take immediate steps to provide relief to the residents. In the meantime, at a high-level meeting presided by Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena it was decided upon that the residents would be provided with new shelters over the coming weeks.

So the District Coordination Committee along with grama niladharis,  divisional secretary and other officials will check on the history of  these residents and other factors before relocating them” - Prasad  Ranaweera UDA Director General

“There are some members of families that have already been relocated and the Urban Development Authority (UDA) too has located some families here,” said UDA Director General Prasad Ranaweera. “So the District Coordination Committee along with grama niladharis, divisional secretary and other officials will check on the history of these residents and other factors before relocating them. However we are unable to provide a shelter to a member of a family that was already relocated here,” said Ranaweera. 
When asked about locations Ranaweera said that there are locations in close proximity to Kajimawatte. “The plan will be implemented over the next few weeks. We also have to wait till the cause of fire is revealed because this is the third time that a fire broke out at this location,” said Ranaweera.

Pics by Pradeep Dilrukshana