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Parliamentary complex in need of urgent repairs
By Chandani Kirinde
The Parliamentary Complex is in need of renovations in several areas, refurbishing as well as improvement to its electrical and telecommunication systems, a select committee has reported.

In an interim report to Parliament, the committee headed by Deputy Speaker Geetanjana Gunawardena said the structural links between the balcony and the terraces in the Parliament building were weak and that the waterproofing had undergone long term wear and tear while termites had appeared in some areas.

“Even though termite preventive measures had been carried out at the time of construction of the building, its lifespan is not clear. Therefore a study must be carried out in this regard,” the report recommended.

The committee said the seats in the chamber did not function properly and needed to be fixed and the carpets needed to be re-laid as they were worn out.
The committee also noted the “very poor condition” of the kitchen and several other shortcomings and said the entire kitchen needed to be renovated giving special consideration to walls, lighting and plumbing.

It said menus need to be upgraded, a system introduced to regulate the issue of food, a modern waste disposal method introduced as the existing one is not in order and the kitchen staff trained as it had been observed that their knowledge and experience remained at a minimal level.

The committee has also recommended new switchboards with modern facilities such as Caller Line Identification (CLI) and redialling, replacing immediately the vehicle call up system as well as fixing speakers in the Gallery of the main chamber.

The committee also noted the recommendations of the Ceylon Electricity Board that the existing electricity system and the standby generator be subjected to a complete overhaul and improved to meet the present and future requirements.

The committee also recommended that the abandoned Presidential complex project at Madiwela be used as part of the Parliamentary complex to overcome problems relating to the lack of space. The option is the construction of a new building adjoining the rear entrance of Parliament.

The committee invited Chartered Architect Nihal Bodhinayake who worked with Geoffrey Bawa, the Chief Architect of the Parliamentary Complex, and officials of the UDA and the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau to get their views on these two suggestions and is awaiting reports from them.

However during the discussions it was noted by Mr. Bodhinayake that no modernisation process should disturb the “Panchayathana concept” which is the main architectural concept of the building and that no new building should be constructed to rise above the main building. The new Parliament at Sri Jayawardhanapura was opened in 1982.

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