President of Sri Lanka has officially declared a wide range of public services as “essential services” in response to the ongoing severe weather conditions affecting the country.
An Extraordinary Gazette notification issued by the Presidential Secretariat cited the “severe adverse weather condition currently prevailing” as the reason for the declaration.
The services now designated as essential include:
- Electricity supply and distribution
- Fuel supply, including petroleum products and gas
- Healthcare services, covering hospitals, nursing homes, dispensaries, and all related patient care, feeding, and treatment
- Public transport services for passengers and goods
- Transport infrastructure and tourism services, including roads, railways, airports, ports, bridges, and culverts
- Water supply and drainage/sewerage services
- Distribution of food and other essential commodities
- Civil administration services, including District and Divisional Secretariat officers, local government field officers, community-service officers, sanitation workers, and agricultural officers
- Ambulance and emergency services
- Banking and insurance services, including operations by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka
- Local authority services, such as utilities management (water, electricity, drainage), waste removal, fire-fighting, public sanitation, and sewerage
- Irrigation services
- Communications, including telephone, telecommunication, and media
- Land reclamation and development in low-lying or flood-prone areas
- Agricultural services and agricultural insurance services
The declaration aims to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of these critical services during the crisis, safeguarding public safety, health, and welfare. Government authorities have been instructed to maintain continuity of operations across all sectors listed in the Gazette.
