Rs 200 m project boon for Sri Pada pilgrims

Irangika RANGE

The reconstruction of the stairway from Nallathanni to Seetha Gangula on the access road to the Sri Pada Maluwa will start today under the patronage of Highways and Road Development Minister T.B. Ekanayake.

A stairway with 14,000 steps to enter the Sri Pada Maluwa will be reconstructed at a cost of Rs.200 million under the Gama Neguma project on a special request by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The reconstruction is expected to be completed before the Sri Pada season begins next month for the convenience of thousands of pilgrims coming from all parts of the country.

A length of the one step of the stairway is 10 feet while the width is 12 inches, the Highways and Road Development Ministry spokesman told the Daily News.

It is the present Government which took measures to renovate the Sri Pada access road which had not been developed after the Kandy era, he said.

It is estimated that the first phase of the project would cost Rs 9 million, he added.

In addition to the new stairway, the safety fence and the drainage system will also be renovated under the patronage of Chief Incumbent of Sri Pada Temple, Handapangoda Sri Wimala Thera,said the Minister.