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While officials dilly-dally British HC eyes Victoria statue The British High Commission is willing to take over the monument of Queen Victoria, which was removed from President's House and is currently at the Viharamahadevi Park, with Archaeological officials yet to decide on a location for the statue. Queen Victoria's Jubilee statue, which stood majestically in Gordon Gardens at President's House for more than a century, now lies in separate parts. "The High Commission has written to the Foreign Affairs Ministry requesting permission to place the statue at the British High Commissioner's residence as it has a historical value," said a High Commission spokesperson. "We have not taken any decisions yet," said Himali Arunathilake, the Ministry's Deputy Director of Public Communications.
The Sunday Times learned that the Cultural and National Heritage Minister was abroad but a senior official stated that the monument had to be removed due to security reasons. The National Museum in Colombo too had not been informed of a place for the monument. "Unless we get written permission we can't take any action," said Dr. Nanda Wickremasinghe of the National Museum. "A special request was made by President's House to remove the statue. It was removed under supervision by two of our officers. But a problem arose as it did not belong to the Archaeological monuments category. We decided to place it at Victoria (now Viharamahadevi ) Park instead of the Museum," said Archaeology Department Director General, Senarath Dissanayake.
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