In response to the ongoing post-disaster situation caused by Cyclone Ditwah, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has extended the declaration of certain services as essential public services under the Essential Public Services Act, No. 61 of 1979.
Issued through a Gazette Extraordinary, the declaration specifies that services provided by public corporations, government departments, local authorities, and co-operative societies that are critical to the life and well-being of the community must continue without interruption.
The Schedule attached to the Order lists the essential services, including:
-
All services related to the supply of electricity
-
The supply and distribution of fuel, including petroleum products and gas
-
Services required for the care, feeding, treatment, and maintenance of patients in hospitals, nursing homes, dispensaries, and similar institutions
-
Public transport services for passengers and goods
-
Facilitation and maintenance of road, rail, and air transport services, including highways, bridges, culverts, airports, ports, and railways, as well as tourism services
-
All services related to water supply and drainage
-
Services related to the supply, protection, and distribution of food and essential commodities
-
Field-level services carried out by District Secretariats, Divisional Secretariats, Grama Niladharis, Samurdhi Development Officers, Agricultural Research Assistants, Community Empowerment Officers, and Clean Sri Lanka Centralized Team officers
-
Ambulance services
-
State banking and insurance services, including the Central Bank of Sri Lanka
-
Local authority services related to water, electricity, drainage, sewerage, fire-fighting, ambulance, scavenging, and garbage disposal
-
Services connected to irrigation
-
Services related to telephone, telecommunication, and media
-
Services for reclamation and development of low-lying lands
-
Services related to agriculture and agricultural insurance
The Gazette notes that this measure aims to prevent interruptions in services essential to the community’s survival and recovery during the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah.
The Order, signed by Secretary to the President Dr. N. S. Kumanayake, came into effect on 28 January 2026.
