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Water Board, RDA two-year tangle over road raises resident anger
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Lalith Sugath
The residents at Madinnagoda-Rajagiriya area are angry over the repairs of M.D.H. Jayawardena Mawatha as the road remains in a dilapidated state for more than two years.
The National Water Supplies and Drainage Board (NWSDB) had started laying pipelines by digging up the carpeted road.
Chairman of a leading private sector company, Rohitha Mendis, a resident, said he was fed up with the slow and lethargic work attitude of the provincial road development authority and NWSDB who pass the responsibility to each other. He said work has not been done for over two years.
Roshan Jayathilake
“They dug up the Madinnagoda road, which was nicely carpeted to lay a pipeline, which we understand is a must in development. But they have not done anything to repair the road,” he said.
Resident Lalith Sugath, an owner of a hardware store, said: “In the night, vehicles could fall into potholes and cause accidents. They also carry out digging during the night time. The site remains uncovered.’’
The road is repeatedly dug up as the pipes sprout leaks during pressure testing.
IT engineer Roshan Jayathilake said road building has damaged houses near the road. He said cracks have appeared in walls and doorstep areas. “The road is dusty during sunny days, and muddy during rainy days. This is a great inconvenience to us.’’
An employee of the construction company which is carrying out pressure testing said that the pipes were laid by another company, yet due to leaks, the remainder of the work has been handed over to the company.
C. P Athuluwage, chairman of the Road Development Authority, admitted that overall (island -wide) the RDA has issues with the NWSDB as the board continues to damage roads and also not provide funds for repairs.
The NWSDB has yet to pay to millions to the RDA for repairing the roads which they dig up to lay water pipes, he said.
“The situation has come to the point where we feel we should decide not to give permission for them to break the roads. If they break roads they must provide us funds to rectify them,’’ he said.
The executive engineer of the Western Province Road Development Authority, Kamal Nishantha said that the pipeline is a Water Board project and it has not yet been handed over to them.
He said road repairs were done in the areas handed over to them, yet those areas, too, were dug up again by the NWSDB following leaks.
The General Manager of the NWSDB, T. Barathithasan said that if he is made aware of the location he would take action.
The state of M.D.H. Jayawardena Mawatha for over two years
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