(UPDATED) Construction of the ‘world’s largest Christmas Tree’ suspended

The world’s largest Christmas tree built under the aegis of the Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, which has drawn wide criticism from all quarters including Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, was suspended midway on Wednesday.
The suspension order by Minister Ranatunga was given a day after criticism by Archbishop of Colombo, who termed the endeavour ‘wasteful expenditure’, saying the money should be used to build homes for the homeless or to provide scholarships to poor children.
The tree was to be built using iron, old wood material, chicken wire mesh and vinyl flowers. The 325-foot tree was scheduled to be completed by December 22 and displayed for 10 days beginning on Christmas Day. It was going on the record books of the Guinness Book as the tallest tree but drew criticism over the extravagant expenditure and that Christmas is not celebrated with such costly adventures.
However, during an explanatory media briefing held at the Ports and Shipping Ministry on Wednesday, Chairman of the Organising Committee to construct the Christmas tree, Manjula Gunasekara claimed that they had obtained the permission of the Cardinal prior to commencement of the tree.
In fact, he noted that a priest from the church was present on the site of the launch of the Christmas tree along with the Minister Ranatunga at the Galle Face Green.
The authorities had written to the Cardinal and had obtained a verbal permission to go ahead by the Archbishop’s secretary.
The decision to halt the construction of the tree was made on Tuesday night following a discussion between the Minister and the organizers as a result of which there were no workers at the site of the construction on Wednesday. Work has stopped with the tree at 60 feet.
The tree has been constructed with materials provided by a number of organizations at a cost of Rs.12 million of which Rs.6 million worth of resources had already been spent, the organizers said.
However, they noted that there is no evidence to prove that the construction of the tree was carried out using money from the Ports Authority, as alleged in some quarters. (SD)