Iraj goes wild amidst heavy rain (video)

Yesterday, with the torrential rain that fell on Colombo city, several places in the city were completely submerged. Amidst this heavy rain that fell during the night, renowned YouTube artist Iraj Weeraratne released a video on social media showing a 'Metro' bus traveling along a main road that was submerged in water.

According to the video, he can be seen standing on a submerged main road in Colombo. In the video, which was published with the caption "Wow, a Metro bus going underwater," Iraj Weeraratne severely criticizes the Colombo Municipal Council.

"Colombo is completely submerged, and these people can't even clean a drain," he says. He states that since the Municipal Council does not clean the drains, his young people are getting into the water to clean them, and he also questioned, "Was there a curse?" and "Aren't you going to do anything else? Rai."

However, the video he made received strong public reactions on social media. The overwhelming majority of comments on the video stated that it is unacceptable to be happy during such a natural disaster for political gain or with the aim of overthrowing a government.

Many people accused him of enjoying the situation while the public suffered from the rain. Some responses pointed out that an extremely heavy rainfall of about 129 millimeters falling within a short period of two hours caused such a sudden flood situation, and that it was a situation experienced after about 72 years. Also, some pointed out that people dumping garbage into drains was another major reason for this.

Politically, a strong social media debate was also created here. Users who accused Iraj's action of being aimed at the current administration reminded him that Colombo was similarly submerged during the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration.

Meanwhile, others sarcastically questioned Iraj's mental state. Responses indicating that he had been affected by a 'was kaviya' (a curse poem) and had lost his sanity were common. Some sarcastically warned him to be careful as he might contract leptospirosis from standing in dirty water and advised him to see a doctor.

Although created with the aim of criticizing the authorities, Iraj Weeraratne ultimately faced strong criticism from social media users. Several of his old fans also noted that they were saddened that a talented musician who had created international-level works in the past had fallen into such a state due to politics.

Watch the video related to this incident ›