Sunday Times 2
RDA has no respect for monuments protected by law
The Malwatta Chapter Mahanayake has expressed serious concern while others have complained over the blatant disregard and vandalism of Sri Lanka’s ancient monuments.
The latest of such a threat which was temporarily halted by the timely action of the appellate court was the Road Development Authority’s move that could have caused harm and destruction to the Ancient Godamunne Walauwwa at Ampitiya in Kandy. The Walauwwa and land surrounding it had been received by Godamunne Mudali through a grant by Sannas in 1765 in honour of his indomitable courage and skill in war, after he routed the forces of Van Eck, during the Dutch invasion of Kandy. This happened during the reign of King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe. (Lawrie’s Gazette).
While the Godamunne Sakalasuriya family owned paraveni lands from 1660 A.D. in Hewaheta, they came to live permanently in the Walauwwa at Ampitiya after Capt. Fraser of the British Imperial army overran and razed to the ground the family’s older Walauwwa dating back to 1660 A.D. in the village of Godamunne, for the part the family played, this time, in fighting the British.
Godamunne Sakalasuri Gebanaradala alias Rebel Godamunne led fighters of Hewaheta and Harispattuwa against the imperial British forces in 1817-1818. Relocating in Ampitiya, once the old Walauwwa was lost to them, they continued the fight against the British.
It is said that by the severe treatment meted out to the family, Fraser sent a warning to others. He seized and then burned down all they owned in Godamunne. All that withstood the scorched earth policy of the British in Godamunne and its surroundings was the Ambalama. It contains the only two surviving pillars of the Diyatilaka Palace and the Sagama Rajamaha Viharaya. According to Bodhi wansa, the Viharaya received one of the original Bo saplings brought to Sri Lanka by Sangamitta theri .
Both of these premises remain conserved as part of Sri Lanka’s heritage.
As for Godamunne Gabanaradala, he was deemed a rebel during the 1817-1818 Uva Wellassa rebellion and, thereafter, proscribed for life by the British Judicial Commission.
The Godamunne Walauwwa in Ampitiya is also said to have been a base for other heroic family members such as Katekalle Kumari alias Katakelle Bandara Baduwa, and Katekelle Mohottala.
With her brothers and male cousins being too young to go to war, Katakelle Kumari, an extraordinarily brave young woman, led forces against the invading British battalions in 1803 at Wagolla and Lewalla.
Katakalle Kumari’s forces defeated the British forces on the banks of the Mahaweli and the battlefield later came to be known as Lewalle due to the blood of the defeated forces that caked the banks of the river. It is said that Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe honoured her, thereafter, with the title of Ketekelle Bandara Baduwa and gifted her a golden head ornament to be worn in recognition of her valour. These are but only three family members stated herein in a long line of patriots who by their blood, sweat and tears have fought to uphold the dignity of this country.
This ancient Godamunne Walauwwa in Ampitiya, due to its rich heritage and the valour of a nations people it is symbolic of, was gazeted as a historic monument by an act of Parliament in 2002, under the aegis of the Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka.
In 2013, the RDA convened a village meeting to inform the residents of the area that a road widening project was being considered. The Archeology Department Director, who had found out about this move, had immediately directed the RDA to redesign the road so as to avoid this ancient monument and its corpus which includes a wall. The wall forms a bulwark at the end of a narrow footpath which acts as a safety barrier between the road and the monument.
To avoid putting heritage sites at risk, regulations under the Antiquities Act were gazetted in 2000, detailing steps to be followed when undertaking development projects. The RDA has disregarded this procedure in moving on with the project. When an Archeology Department official who wishes to remain unnamed was asked about why this procedure has been ignored by the RDA, his answer was: ‘Apo egollanta mewa gena ganak ne. Oka hama thanama karanawa (They do not care about heritage sites. They cause damage and destruction to such sites all the time). On further investigation, it has been brought to light that the design engineers themselves have been derelict in following the relevant ordinance and the direction of the Archaeology Director.
This entire saga brings yet again to light the utter lack of respect for the law of the country, for Parliament which enacts these laws, and the people who expect government officials, whose salaries are paid by the public, to uphold the law. Perhaps what is most shameful is the lack of national pride, and a national conscience on what is good and right and desirable. Destruction of monuments which are emblems of our forefathers’ struggles to uphold the dignity of the country’s people is similar to dismantling the soul of a nation. One wonders what soulless people engage in such acts. It is certainly ironic that as we mark the 200th anniversary of the 1818 rebellion, emblems of our valour are being marked for destruction, by a set of state officials who have no respect for the country’s laws, its culture or heritage.
Kandy, to many, has been a uniquely beautiful place with its rolling hills, meandering waterways, verdant woods, lush paddy fields and a valley dotted with historic buildings, including the sacred Dalada Maligawa. This environment and ambience, where the sun rises and sets to the drum beat of the Dalada Thewawa became so famous around the world that Kandy had become a must-see place for visitors to the country.
British author Iris Darnton’s section on Kandy vividly and nostalgically captures the essence of this ancient city. It is unfortunate to note and witness how the ethos of this city is disappearing at the hands of destructive forces which have no appreciation for culture or an economy that can be built around it.
Tourists who previously spent many days in Kandy exploring the various historic sites are today one night visitors to Kandy. Why? Because much of the quaint and beautiful ambience is being lost to mindless and garish alterations.
Cultural tourism is a different segment to cheap beach tourism. Cultural tourism appeals to a set of high spending free independent tourists – the kind that spends time in West England, Rajasthan or the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. For instance, the meticulously preserved Cotswolds are a collection of old English villages smaller than Kandy, but world famous for their charming beauty. This kind of tourist economy, however, has been lost to us with the most ridiculous ideas for the development of Kandy, such as the proposal to bifurcate the Kandy Lake with a road to ease traffic.
Amidst such madness, where lies a conservation programme for historic buildings and monuments? For instance, where is the conservation of the fast disappearing royal apartments granted to courtiers on the side streets of Kandy? They existed unaltered till the 1970s. Where is the back half of the palace of King Wimaladharmasuriya I? Do these so-called city development experts even know of these things? With the prevailing ignorance and irreverence, soon Kandy will become another concrete jungle like any other, dotted with buildings of no architectural or historic value. Sad to see, this is the direction, in which the so-called development of Kandy is headed. Once the old vestiges are gone and replaced by all that is dime a dozen and fatuous, we can bequeath to our future generation the epithet – Shame ! Thus did we.