Sri Lanka, Dec. 24 -- Landslides are not a new phenomenon for people in Aranayaka, a town in Kegalle District. In 2016, following the Samasara Kanda landslide, at least a 100 people succumbed to injuries while over 150,000 people were impacted. But this time, as many as 68 landslides have been triggered in this district since the Lower Kadugannawa incident, displacing many people and forcing them to look for alternative places to settle.

A double blow

Studies indicate that the 2016 landslide occurred in a place which was previously a rubber and tea estate. The area was later converted to a settlement in 1960s. However, new settlers too have continued to grow tea and other export crops as a livelihood. During a recent visit to Aranayak...