The Registrar General’s Department has confirmed that over one million birth and marriage registration certificates were destroyed in the landslides and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwa.
Registrar General Mrs. Shashi Devi Jaldeepan said a mobile service program has been launched to reissue these essential documents to affected individuals. The Department estimates that more than half of the nearly 2.2 million people impacted by the disaster have lost their certificates.
Under this initiative, birth and marriage certificates are being issued free of charge through a one-day expedited service in 22 disaster-hit districts. Efforts are also ongoing to issue death certificates for those who died or went missing in the floods and landslides.
Mrs. Jaldeepan noted that the mobile service is being implemented alongside the government’s “Clean Sri Lanka” program, with support from the Commissioner General of Essential Services and, in some cases, non-governmental organizations.
So far, services have been conducted in Kottawa and Kandy districts, with District Deputy Registrars collecting data on residents lacking certificates. The Department aims to complete the reissuance process before the end of January next year.
