Letters to the Editor
View(s):
An eye sore: Stained posters, broken ceilings at the entrance to Sinharaja Forest Reserve
I was horrified and aghast at the manner in which the Kudawa entrance to the Sinharaja Forest Reserve has been so neglected. It is so decrepit. And here we are post-Easter carnage imploring tourists to come back again. Visit us! But, nobody is really interested in what local or foreign tourists think about the dilapidated condition of this building perched at the entrance to this beautiful rainforest.
The young people who were working there seemed so demotivated and sad that the premises in which they have been asked to work in is simply coming apart at all its seams. The poky area that stores and sells stained, dusty, dog-eared, posters and postcards is simply unfit for human habitation.
This and other areas come crashing out at you – jagged wood dangling precariously and torn ceilings and columns gaping at you with their pleas of “mend me please..”.
I appeal to the Minister of Tourism Development, the Forest Department and the Prime Minister to get their act together, stop wasting money on ridiculous advertisements and pronouncements and establish and work proactively and sincerely towards the country’s priorities. And please don’t pass the buck down the line. For God’s sake this is a “World Heritage Site”!
I managed to take some photos which I hope will, at least now, shake, rattle and roll the authorities concerned.
Jomo Uduman Etul-Kotte