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Rajapaksa pandal disaster: Victim faces uncertain future
Victim Sulari
A young woman remains paralysed below the waist and faces a long, hard road to recovery after the collapse of an unauthorised pandal erected for a political event of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) in Maharagama.
Sulari Laknima (27) was planning to go abroad for work. She left her home in Rathgama, Galle on September 8 for an appointment at an employment agency in Maharagama town. Her boyfriend Sujeewa Harshan (29) came from Gampaha to join her. As the couple were making their way towards Pamunuwa, a large pandal put up for the political event collapsed onto the road. A section of the pandal hit Sujeewa’s leg and he fell. Sulari was trapped under the boards.
“Some bystanders and I managed to free Sulari and we took her in a trishaw to Kalubowila Hospital. She told me in the trishaw that she could not feel her legs and asked if they were still there. While in hospital, I got a message through to her mother in Rathgama and her aunt in Maharagama. However, before any of them could get to Kalubowila, she was transferred to the National Hospital as her condition was serious,” Sujeewa told the Sunday Times.
Sulari has been at the National Hospital for two weeks now. She underwent surgery earlier this week. “The doctors told us that she has severe nerve damage in her legs and that she will require extensive physiotherapy for about a month or so. They will be able to tell us then whether she will fully regain the use of her lower limbs,” Sujeewa explained.
The pandal that collapsed had been put up by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) on the night of September 7 for a September 10 event organized by former Western Provincial Council Member Upali Kodikara and his wife, former Mayor and Maharagama SLPP Organiser Kanthi Kodikara. Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa was to be the chief guest.
Sujeewa said the Kodikaras visited Sulari in hospital and were extending support to the family. “We have no quarrel with them. We are poor people. All we want is for Sulari to get better,” Sujeewa added.
Mr. Kodikara was produced before the Nugegoda Additional Magistrate on Monday and granted bail. The Maharagama Police told court that the pandal had been erected without the approval of the Maharagama Urban Council (MUC) or the Road Development Authority (RDA). MUC Chairman Tiraj Piyaratne told the Sunday Times he made a statement to the police stating that the MUC was not informed by the event organisers about erecting a pandal.
Mr Kodikara disputed this. “The pandal was erected for an annual distribution of school books that I undertake. We made a request in writing to the MUC Chairman on August 28. He had only signed the letter on September 8; the day of the incident. He must take the blame for delaying approval for this. We still don’t know exactly what happened. The pandal was erected by 10 pm on September 7. It collapsed around 10 am the following day. No one knows why yet. It could have collapsed due to any number of reasons. Maybe it was hit by a vehicle, maybe it was the wind, it may even be an act of sabotage by our political rivals,” he said.
Mr Kodikara insisted that they were fully committed to looking into Sulari’s welfare. “We have spoken to the family and are supporting them. We are all human. If she faces a long road to recovery, then we will be there for her throughout,” he said.
The court case will come up again on December 4. Mr Kodikara said they hoped to arrive at a settlement with the family by then.