CCD bulldozes Presidential orders
Sri Lanka’s coastal protection agency is determined to tear down illegal structures on the beaches of Negombo, Dehiwala, Mt. Lavinia and Mirissa according to plan amidst Presidential orders to temporarily suspend such operations on the Southern belt.
“We are planning to go ahead with it (removing illegal structures) and it will be on the coasts of Negombo, Dehiwala, Mt. Lavinia and Mirissa,” Coast Conservation Department(CCD) Director General Prabhath Chandrakeerthi told the Business Times on Friday. No date, however, has been fixed for the demolition assignments.
Mr. Chandrakeerthi said that he had suspended the order to demolish the illegal structures in Mirissa in a bid to allow those owning these places to voluntarily remove them as per requests from those owning these structures.
Hoteliers have rung alarm bells over the menace of beach boys and the growing concern of unauthorised constructions on the coast of Sri Lanka that has particularly affected the country’s tourism industry due to the recent attacks against tourists both physically and sexually on April 8.
This has led to authorities engaged in cleaning up the coast to become actively involved despite political pressure to refrain from removing the livelihoods of so-called “small entrepreneurs.”
However, following complaints from government politicians, Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga said this week that the President had issued orders to suspend the removal of the illegal structures in Mirissa which were scheduled to be carried out on May 1.
The Minister also noted that this suspension was likely to be in place until the said unauthorised constructions were removed by their owners and registrations of these places were undertaken by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).
The unauthorised restaurant whose owner was questioned by the tourism authorities following the attack on tourists has been issued instructions to close the surf bar called Water Creatures Restaurant and Surf Bar on the orders of the SLTDA until investigations were concluded.
Nine persons have been arrested in connection with the case and produced before the Matara Magistrate and remanded.
Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara told the Business Times that the removal of unauthorised constructions in Mirissa had been postponed by the CCD on May 1 and that police was unaware of the reason; and added that they had agreed to send the required police personnel when requested.
The decision to suspend the removal of unauthorized Mirissa structures, angered the trade.
The Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) said in a statement that it was “disturbed to learn, that days (after the decision to remove these structures), the Coastal Conservation Department (CCD) has decided to suspend the removal of illegal constructions on the Mirissa and Weligama coastal belt until further notice, going against assurances given to the tourism industry, the previous week”.
SLAITO said its members were disappointed to hear about the suspension as this issue is being monitored by tour operators who are waiting to see a swift response from authorities as they are responsible for the safety of tourists they send to Sri Lanka.
| New weapon against tourism mafia | |
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New beach-friendly police vehicles appear to be Sri Lanka’s response to problems faced by tourists in Mirissa and other areas. Tourism Minister John Amaratunga with Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators President Harith Perera watch a policeman display its functions at the 2-day, annual “Sancharaka Udawa” tourism fair on Friday. Pic by Amila Gamage. |
