With the Government declaring three days of special holidays, the Central Cultural Fund (CCF) has shut down Sigiriya to all tourists until further notice.
All employees of the CCF too have been given holidays and all ticket counters to the site were also closed. We found only one security guard and one administrative officer on duty when we visited yesterday (18).
Sigiriya town, normally bustling with foreign and local tourists, was also all but deserted. Those employed in tourism in the area said they were facing severe economic difficulties due to the lack of tourists.
The few foreign tourists who are still in the area said they were also in a quandary as they could not find any places to stay or eat as all hotels and restaurants in the area were closed. They lamented that they were also finding it difficult to find vehicles to take them elsewhere as drivers were reluctant to admit them to their vehicles. They appealed to the Government to look into this situation.
Meanwhile, some foreign tourists were still seeing making use of the deserted roads to move around freely in the area.
Text and Pix by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa
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