Facelift to tourist cities

Anjana Gamage

COLOMBO: As part of a plan to keep popular local tourist spots spruced up and clean five tractors and 10 trailers valued at Rs. 6.4 billion were distributed at the Visumpaya among five Pradeshiya Sabhas, by Minister of Tourism Anura Bandaranaike

The Pradeshiya Sabhas to receive these tractors and trailers are from Attanagalla, Ambagamuwa, Kataragama, Tissamaharama and Tangalle.

Deputy Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, Southern Province Governor Kingsley T. Wickramaratne and Chairman Sri Lanka Tourist Board Udaya Nanayakkara were present on the occasion.

Governor Kingsley T. Wickremaratne said that the per capita income of a person in the Southern Province has increased by 30 percent when compared to Colombo.

"We don't have politics in the Southern Province. There is a new development in the Southern Province in the aftermath of the tsunami.

Of the tourists that visited the South this year 62 percent were from Germany. We are ready to complete the target of having 7000 hotel rooms within this year. We also have a plan to turn disposable garbage into fertiliser and sell them to farmers for seven rupees per kilogramme. There was a need for 11,000 houses only for the Galle District in the aftermath of the Tsunami and we have achieved that target", Governor Wickremaratne said.

Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike said that accumulation of garbage and food waste in city centres and along waterways in tourist areas has become an eyesore.

"Garbage has become a national problem today. Most of the local tourists are destroying the amazing coastal belt that we have by dumping garbage along the beach side. Several foreign journalists and tourists themselves question us as to why appropriate action is not taken to clean up tourist cities and to beautify them. An initial investigation revealed that several Pradeshiya Sabhas are not equipped with collecting bins and transportation equipment among other things for clearing of garbage.

"Although, the Tourism Ministry cannot find islandwide solutions to this problem, we thought of assisting at least in a small way in resolving this national issue by providing tractors and trailers for Pradeshiya Sabhas in selected tourist cities", the Minister said.

Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism, George Michael, Director General of the SLTB S. Kalaiselvam, Consultant to the Tourism Minister Anura Tissera were also present.