And so it took an international event to act as a wake up call for the authorities to realize that the city of Colombo was in a miserable state of neglect and to get them going- throwing as much as they can in a frenzied pace as the SAARC message hit home.
The Municipal authorities have pressed into service an estimated 7,000 persons both from the Council and from three private agencies along with a gigantic Rs. 347 million to get the job done before the start of the three-day SAARC summit which begins on August 1.
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‘Dr’ Mervyn Silva in all his enthusiasm has erected a massive billboard at Maradana to welcome the delegates to this weekend’s SAARC Summit in Colombo. What no one seems to have told the ‘Dr’ is that this is the 15th SAARC Summit and not the 17th as his billboard proudly announces. Pix by Gemunu Wellage, Berty Mendis, Pushpa Kumara, Athula Devapriya and Sanka Vidanagama |
They are touching up almost everything from road signs and hoardings, to bus halts and railway stations, government and private institutes, drainage lines, roundabouts, schools, hospitals, bridges, cinemas, gas stations, beef and fish stalls, vegetable markets, bars and even the dozens of police and military check points that dot the many entry points to the city.
Private residences that border the routes of the motorcades bringing in the visiting heads of state and other dignitaries have also been encouraged to spruce up their front walls and lawns.
According to senior officials at the Colombo Municipal Council that is overseeing the work, they have so far received a tremendous response from the public the most encouraging being from public institutions.
They added that many citizens had also chipped in regardless of the expenses they would have to incur, although the worst response was from the plush zone of Colombo seven although some of the houses in this area had been in neglect for many, many years. Another poor response was from educational institutes, they said.
Nearly 90 percent of the money poured into the project was centered on infrastructure projects such as repairs to many roads, some of which were in a state of disrepair for decades, says the Council’s Commissioner Badra Jayewardene. “This was also the case in many drainage systems and even culverts,” she said.
Apart from the beautification drive, the authorities say they are also worried about health hazards in the overcrowded city and have taken several preventive measures to keep the area clean during and even after the SAARC period.
CMC’s Deputy Medical Officer Dr. Ruwan Wijeyamuni said a close tab was being maintained on the potential spread of diseases such as Dengue and Chikungunya with several preventive measures already being implemented.
At nights CMC vehicles have been seen fumigating city areas to minimize the mosquito menace.
Encouraged by the response from both the public and private sectors, CMC officials says they are now drawing up plans to launch similar drives in the future on a regular basis, adding that it was a requirement even under the Council’s by-laws although they were never fully implemented.
CMC’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam said the present laws required all traders to paint their respective establishments every six months or twice a year. “We are going to implement this from now on, and those who fail to fall in line will be penalized or even have their licenses revoked,” he said.
He added that this was a special requirement in many developed capitals, and it should not be any different here.
Despite all the hype and success stories by the officialdom there are those who are distraught by the happenings, like the residents by the railroad in Slave Island and the traders at Rajagiriya who were booted out on to the street after their homes and establishments were flattened by the authorities to make way for the 15th SAARC Summit.
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CMC workers working day and night to repair and beautify the city |
Putting up the flags |
Multi-Million Rupee Robot
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Commandos from the elite Special Task Force (STF) put on display their latest high-tech bomb disposal robot during a rehearsal at the BMICH – the chief venue for the 15th SAARC Summit to be held on August 2 and 3. – Pic by J. Weerasekera |
Sad reel for movie-goers
By Madhushala Senaratne
To close or not to close, is the dilemma many business establishments including cinema halls, especially in the High Security Zone (HSZ) are facing in the run up to the SAARC summit next week.
A spokesperson for Regal Cinema in Fort said their decision to stay open or not would depend on the closure of roads. Although the cinema itself is located in the HSZ in Fort, Chittampalam Gardiner Mawatha which leads to the cinema is outside the HSZ.
“We have not been instructed to close the cinema nor have we been issued passes to travel to the HSZ. However if the roads are closed, the public will not be able to come to the cinema,” he said.
Liberty Cinema manager R. G. Prasanna said that they would not be taking pre-bookings after July 30.
“We are taking bookings only upto July 30. We have not yet decided to close as this would depend on the situation of the roads,” he said. Liberty cinema, as is the case with Regal cinema, is located in the HSZ in Kollupitiya although the road leading to the cinema is located outside. An official of Ricky cinema in Fort also had a similar story.
“We don’t know what is happening. No decision has yet been taken. However, we would be monitoring the situation of the roads,” he said.
Meanwhile Police spokesperson, SSP Ranjith Gunesekera said since the cinema halls were located outside the HSZ movie-goers would not be hindered in any way.
“The question of either keeping the cinemas open or closed would depend on the owners,” he said.
August 1: Holiday or not?
- Police say yes, ministry says police can’t decide
August 1, the day SAARC Summit begins, has not yet been declared a holiday, The Public Administration and Home Affairs Ministry said yesterday.
Addressing a news conference on Thursday, Western Province Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Nimal Mediwake said August 1 would be declared a public holiday.
However, contradicting this statement, Public Administration and Home Affairs Ministry secretary D. Dissanayaka said August 1 has not yet been declared a holiday and that the police had no authority to declare such holidays.
“No decision has yet been made. It is up to the government to first decide on the matter after which parliament has to gazette that August 1 would be declared a public holiday,” Mr. Dissanayake said.
FM says money well spent and UNP bad at math
By Chandani Kirinde
Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama yesterday defended the Rs 2.8 billion supplementary estimate approved by parliament last week for expenditure related to SAARC and lashed out at the UNP for misleading the public.
Addressing a news conference yesterday he said most of the money was for infrastructure development as well as for re-equipping the Police Department that would benefit the country in the long term.
He said the UNP was attempting to mislead the public by saying that the money would be frittered away in three days but this was not so. “The UNP has got its arithmetic wrong. If it had got its arithmetic right it would have been in power longer,” he told reporters at a news conference.
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Bogollagama addressing the media |
The minister said the city was seeing a rapid transformation and as the country was being showcased for the entire world, the money would be well spent. “The UNP is bankrupt but we are not bankrupt,” he added.
Commenting on what would be taken up at the summit, minister Bogollagama said Sri Lanka would once again reiterate its call for a common currency for the South Asian region. He said President Mahinda Rajapaksa had made the suggestion at last year’s summit in New Delhi too.
In addition this year’s summit would be mainly focusing on ensuring food security in the region as well as exploring alternative forms of energy,.
USA, Japan, China, South Korea, Mauritius, Iran and the EU will attend next week’s summit as observers.
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