The role of Kinniya Urban council in post Tsunami development of Kinniya region

Abstract

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea mega thrust earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004, with an epicenter off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake was caused by triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing over 230,000 people in fourteen countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters (100 feet) high. Indonesia was the hardest hit, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. The plight of the many affected people and countries prompted a worldwide humanitarian response and post-tsunami development. This context is common to Sri Lanka which was severely affected by Boxing Day Tsunami. In the Sri Lankan context, many areas were severely affected and in those areas, Kinniya region was one of areas in Sri Lanka, which was affected by Tsunami tidal waves in 2004. Immediate remedial measures have been taken in many affected areas. But most of the measures have not been effective to uplift the post-tsunami situation in the island. On this backdrop, this dissertation has been prepared titled on 'Role of Kinniya Urban Council in Post-tsunami Development of Kinniya Region.' The prime objective of this study is to analysis active role of the Kinniya Urban Council in development of the area of Kinniya during the post-tsunami period, and to identify issues and challenges which are faced by Kinniya Urban Council in their post-tsunami development programmes. This study is based on qualitative and quantitative methodology which was carried out by employing primary and secondary data. The primary data has been collected through direct observation, interviews. Fifteen persons have been interviewed as key informants. The secondary data has been collected from books, official documents, reports, journals, unpublished thesis and news paper articles. Major finding of this study is to be clearly identified that activities of Kinniya Urban Council in regional development of the area of Kinniya have not been successful to promote post-tsunami situation of the area. The effectiveness of the Council activities has been challenged by various reasons such as political interference in council activities, lack of well planning, lack of knowledge, barriers in collecting proper data and short period experience as an Urban Council. This study has been divided into five chapters. The Chapter one have research proposal which includes such as research title, objectives, significance, methodology, hypothesis and literature review. The second chapter deals with the concepts of disaster, Tsunami and regional development. The third chapter provides preliminary explanation of the research area Kinniya Urban Council. The chapter four discusses the role of the Kinniya Urban Council in regional development of the area of Kinniya during the post-tsunami period, and analysis issues and challenges which are faced by Kinniya Urban Council in their post-tsunami regional development programmes. The chapter five concludes the study with recommendations to promote the role of Kinniya Urban Council in development of the Kinniya area in the Post-Tsunami period.