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Walls come tumbling down as CMC bulldozes its way through in Kollupitiya
View(s):Residents cry foul, say parapet walls pulled down; officials say people informed in advance, only walls blocking linking of Galle Road to Marine Drive brought down
Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) workers, backed by police, this week used bulldozers and broke down parapet walls in lanes on the seaside in Kollupitiya, amidst claims by residents that no advance notice was given to them.
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 Parapet walls brought down: Residents complain their houses are now vulnerable securitywise as they are open to the main road. Pix by Susantha Liyanawatte |
The move, officials explained, was to link Galle Road to Marine Drive, giving more access to motorists. However, the bulldozers not only broke down the walls blocking the roads, but also adjoining parapet walls which were not required to be broken down.
The roads where parapet walls were pulled down included 18th Lane, Nimalka Gardens and Rheinland Place.
Keegal Mathews, a house owner told the Sunday Times that his house was located on a private road, and there would be a new security risk to his place, as a result of the road coming up there. “I had rented out my house. I was not informed that the wall was to be brought down. I only came to know of it when my tenant informed me after the workman broke it down,” he said.
Mohamed Markar who lives down a lane on a private property where six houses are situated, said that the CMC had informed him a few weeks back about plans to connect Galle Road to Marine Drive through the private lane, to which he had raised objections.
“In spite of my objections, they have broken down the wall. We have decided to lodge our protest with the Municipal Council about the move, because it causes a security risk.
“Due to this new arrangement, we will now have to erect new walls at our own expense. This will also create a new issue for parking as we used to park our vehicles on the road and we will not be able to do it any longer,” he said.
Colombo’s Deputy Mayor Titus Perera told the Sunday Times that the CMC decided only to pull down walls at the end of the road, which hinder linking Galle Road to Marine Drive.“We believe that traffic congestion could be reduced by this move,” he said.
He claimed that residents had been informed in advance about the plan, and some of them had objected to the move.
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