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"Don't
move Manning Market here" Residents say that the army camp, located at the top of the road is to be re-located, and the site given to the vegetable section of the main Manning Market. As soon as people living on Wickremaratne Mawatha and adjoining Pepiliyana Mawatha got wind of the proposal they were galvanised into action. A protest meeting was organised at the Bodhimalu Viharaya last Monday evening by residents to hand over a letter to Minister Gamini Lokuge who represents this electorate in Parliament. The temple hall soon filled up with residents who were deeply concerned about the threat to their environment. "We are protesting against this proposal so that it will be shelved," a resident said. Residents' Committee member Gamini Jayasinghe explained, "Minister Bandula Gunawardene recently brought up a proposal to shift part of the Manning Market to the site of the army camp. This is a 100% residential area. There are about 500 households in the immediate vicinity. At least 95% of the residents are house-owners and 90% have lived here for over 20 years." G. Prathapasinghe, another committee member has been a resident here for over 35 years. He said the site was formerly a rice store and then a tea store. Although lorries came to deliver and take away the stocks, the residents did not face a serious problem. When the army moved in about three years ago there were some problems because of infrastructure development. "However, we were willing to face these problems for the sake of the country." "If the Minister wishes to develop the area, he should bring in a more environment-friendly project," stressed Mr. Jayasinghe. A vegetable market will mean 100 - 200 lorries plying to and fro daily, parking in the area and aggravating the traffic congestion on Sunethradevi Road, the main road to Piliyandala and causing untold hardship to the residents. There would also be large-scale pollution caused by rotting vegetables. The area cannot cope with the congestion, the residents say, adding, "Our request is to do away with this proposal and bring in a project more suitable to a residential area." Another resident,
Nihal Amarasekera said he first heard of the project when Minister
Bandula Gunawardene spoke about it on TV, two months ago. The Minister
had said a part of Manning Market would be moved to Urugodawatte
and the other section to Pepiliyana. "We did not take it seriously
until the Minister visited the army camp and had apparently told
the officers that it was a suitable site for the Manning Market." About 14 vegetable exporters from the Pepiliyana area had requested cool room facilities for their produce and proposed to Minister Gunawardene that the site could be utilised for this purpose. However, nothing has been finalised and they were still studying the proposal, he said. Mr. Prathapasinghe stressed that residents would have no objection to a project that does not disturb their environment. Minister Lokuge had asked the residents to come up with proposals to develop the site, as they needed to utilise it profitably. The residents were endeavouring to find a developer to put up housing units, he said. Meanwhile, Minister Gunawardene denied any plans to move a part of the Manning Market to Kohuwela. The proposal was to provide cooling facilities for vegetable exporters, who intended to buy vegetables from rural producers and refrigerate them at the site before export, he said. The Minister said there were many people in the area in favour of the project because it would bring development and employment. "However, if the residents do not want the project, I can take it to my own electorate," he said. The UDA's Director of Urban Design Dr. Janaka Wijesundera said the belief that a part of Manning Market was to be located at Wickremeratne Mawatha was unfounded. The plan was to relocate the whole Manning Market at Urugodawatte, in accordance with the Total Concept Plan for the city approved in 1998. The present site of the Manning Market in the Pettah should be more profit motivated. Further, the four acres on which it is located is insufficient for the trading activities carried on there, as 250 lorries come in daily. At the new site at Urugodawatte, 11 acres would be provided, giving ample space, he said. Under the plan, the Pettah site would be developed as a transport centre for buses and taxis with links to the railway as well. The upper floor of the building would be for shops and commercial activities. Living
designs Living Designs 21 organized by Swarna Obeyesekere was held at the Ceylon Continental Hotel, Colombo from March 15 to 17. An eminent panel of judges, Prof. Willie Mendis, Dr. Bandula Perera, Architects Milroy Perera, Yvette Kahavita de Silva, Shirani Balasuriya, Charmaine Boyle and Niloufer Peiris selected the winners for the Design Awards at Living Designs 21. The first prize for the Best Interior went to the home office display, and the second and third prizes were won by the living room and dining room displays. The awards for the Best Landscape were won by the meditation area, the outdoor cooking area and the entry garden display respectively. |
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