Anger as Dambulla PS levies Rs. 3000 tax for ’’Bullock Cart Safaris’’

The Dambulla Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) has decided to levy a tax of Rs. 3000 from every bullock cart that transports tourists on "Bullock Cart Safaris" around Sigiriya. The move has elicited angry protests by those involved in the business. 

They claim that they have been without employment for almost two years and have only now begun to raise their heads again after tourists again started arriving in the country. Yet, the decision by the Dambulla PS to levy such a large sum as a tax will only put them out of business, they claim. 

Those involved in the business say they only get Rs 1000 per tourist for a bullock cart safari and it is highly unfair for the authorities to levy a tax of Rs 3000 per bullock cart in this situation. 

Dambulla PS Chairman K.G. Somathilake blamed the Central Cultural Fund (CCF), which manages Sigiriya, for the situation. He said the CCF charges as much as Rs 7000 from a foreign tourist to visit Sigiriya but does not give a cent of that money to the PS. Though Sigiriya is situated in the area run by the Dambulla PS, the CCF has so far refused to give any of the funds collected in Sigiriya to the local authority. It also turned down a request by the PS to be given 1% of the proceeds earned from Sigiriya to the local authority, he added. 

In such a situation, the PS has no choice but to levy such taxes, he said, claiming that bullock carts caused damage to the main and byroads in the area and the money was needed for maintenance of these roads. 

Meanwhile, the Road Development Authority (RDA) has also decided to levy a fee from tourist establishments that have put up advertising hoardings along the road in Sigiriya. A team from the RDA is currently estimating how fees for different size hoardings will be calculated. 

Text and Pix by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa