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Unauthorised pandals, hoardings cut out for disaster as polls loom
As the 2019 Presidential Election draws ever closer, political hoardings and pandals are appearing all over the country. The collapse of one such pandal in Maharagama last week, has shown that such structures pose real dangers to the public.
The pandal in Maharagama that came crashing down injuring three
The pandal in Maharagama, erected near the town’s clock tower, collapsed last Sunday (8). Police said the pandal had been put up by a contractor for an event organised by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to be held on September 10. Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa was to be the Chief Guest at the event.
Three persons were injured including a woman identified as Janani Wasana Dissanayake, who was admitted to the Colombo National Hospital. Her boyfriend, Sujeewa Harshana Kumara, a resident of Ambakote, Karandagolla, subsequently lodged a complaint with the Maharagama Police. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.
A car was also damaged in the incident.
It has now emerged that the pandal was erected without the required approval from the Maharagama Urban Council (MUC).
MUC Chairman Tiraj Piyaratne told the Sunday Times that he made a statement to the police stating that the MUC was not informed by the event organizers about erecting a pandal. “This was an illegal structure that fell onto the road causing injuries to people. It was a serious incident. Any structure of this nature requires the approval of the MUC. Yet, we only knew about it only after it collapsed.”
Mr Piyaratne said that, by Law, the local authority’s approval is required to put up “so much as a poster” within its limits, though clearly, it is not enforceable. “When it comes to large structures such as pandals erected on the road, prior written approval is mandatory,” he stressed.
An Opposition Councillor stated it was a stroke of pure luck that the pandal collapsed on a Sunday and not on a weekday, when much more people and vehicles would have been on the road.
The incident is particularly embarrassing for the SLPP, whose Presidential Candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa has publicly declared that he wishes to conduct an environmentally friendly election campaign, devoid of cutouts, banners and posters
Maharagama SLPP Organiser and former Mayor Kanthi Kodikara, who organised the event, played down the incident. “Various interested parties have claimed that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was due to attend this event. This is false. The event had no connection to Mr Rajapaksa’s Presidential campaign and was organised to distribute schools books, with Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa as Chief Guest. I was in Kandy when I heard of the incident and rushed back and visited the injured woman in hospital. We will look into her welfare,” she insisted.
Hoardings at the Kelani Raja Maha Viharaya and (right) in Hambantota. Pix by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi and Indika Handuwala
When questioned, Mrs. Kodikara acknowledged they did not obtain written approval from the MUC to erect the pandal, but claimed that the MUC Chairman was notified verbally about it. A claim which he strongly denied. “I have already given a statement to the police that no one informed me and the MUC never gave approval for it. I stand by that,” Mr Piyaratne stressed.
For their part, an officer at Police Headquarters explained that one does not need police permission to put up a hoarding or a pandal. “A police permit is required to use loudspeakers for an event. We also require the consent from the owner of the land and the owner of the speakers, prior to giving a permit. Regarding a pandal such as the one that collapsed, we can only intervene if there is a complaint that it is obstructing traffic or poses a danger to the public,” the officer explained.
Civil Activist Chirantha Amerasinghe told the Sunday Times that he did lodge a complaint with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) last month, warning that such structures erected on the road posed a serious traffic congestion issue, as well as a danger to the public.
The complaint was lodged on August 10, regarding a pandal erected on Galle Road for a political event in Moratuwa. “The IGP directed it to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in charge of Traffic & Road Safety. The DIG sent me an email stating that the structure did not create traffic congestion and that the traffic was created by the laying of a new drainage system. The reply completely ignored the concerns I raised that the structure was a hazard to road safety and a hindrance to the public,” Mr Amerasinghe charged.
The activist said that one could not give permission to erect such structures on the middle of the road and that, in any case, assistance should be obtained from a structural engineer to ensure that the structure was stable and was not in danger of collapsing.
Mr Amerasinghe opined that authorities also seemed to be reluctant to take action, when it came to structures erected for political events.
“Recently, I complained to authorities about a similar structure erected on Galle Road for a religious event, where one leg of the structure was on the middle of the road. Action was taken swiftly to take it down, but the reaction I got from police regarding this incident was vastly different.”
He added that all parties need to come together to take a decision regarding such structures, to avoid a far more serious incident than what happened in Maharagama.
United People’s Freedom Alliance Kandy District MP Keheliya Rambukwella said, “Traditionally, all political parties have rely on mediums such as posters and cutouts to spread their message. This has become increasingly common over the last 25 years, to the point where there is, not only competition among parties, but even among local politicians within the same party, with one trying to outdo the other, in showing their allegiance or enthusiasm for the party or a candidate,” he explained.
Mr Rambukwella, who is also a Media Spokesman for Presidential Candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa, claimed that their party “has made a good start” in cutting down on cutouts, banners and posters. “However, it will take time. The people need to realise for themselves that eradicating this is necessary. The number (of cutouts, posters and banners) is lower than usual and we will make every possible effort to conduct a campaign in this manner,” he claimed. He added that Gotabaya Rajapaksa recently asked local Councillors in Kandy to take down all such material featuring his image, after seeing them at an event, and they complied.