Opposition MP rejects Colombo mayor's drainage capacity claim as false

Colombo Mayor Balthazar's statement that the city's drainage system cannot cope with rain exceeding 30 millimetres is a complete lie, Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP S.M. Marikkar has alleged.

The government side is lying without limits, he said, claiming that everyone from President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to the Colombo mayor is speaking untruths.

According to data issued by the Department of Meteorology over the past 32 years, up to 400 millimetres of rain has fallen in Colombo in the past, Marikkar pointed out, saying the mayor's statement is unacceptable in any way.

He also noted that the Colombo National Hospital has never faced a flood danger. With many parts of Colombo submerged by continuing heavy rain, such accusations are being traded between political sides.

These debates between political camps over flood relief measures are expected to echo in the upcoming budget discussions as well.