Completing of the three World Cup stadiums:

‘President Rajapaksa showed us how’

Chris DHAMBARAGE

ICC Tournament Director for Sri Lanka Suraj Dandeniya revealed that it was President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s vision and his guiding force that inspired Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to complete three new stadiums for the 2011 World Cup.

Dandeniya stated that thanks to the commitment and the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa they were able to put up three state-of-the-art cricket stadiums in a short period of one year.

Following are the excerpts from the interview.

Q: How confident is the ICC that these new stadiums will be fully completed by February 19?

A: The ICC is one hundred percent confident because we sent them photographs. We keep in touch with them and they are very confident. This is a myth where people say that you have to hand over the stadiums at a specific time.

Those are just guidelines not hard and fast rules. Of course when the ICC comes if Sri Lanka Cricket is still having major constructions in these stadiums then it is a problem.

But thankfully we have finished every single major construction. It is just the finishing touches that we have to do. So even till the start of the World Cup we will go ahead with that.

When the ICC comes next time if they are not satisfied, then there is a problem. So there is nothing of that sort.

Q: How about the preparation of wickets at the new venues?

A: All the three wickets were finished six seven months ago. So we are very confident that Sri Lanka will not have a problem. As I told you if any of these stadiums are not ready and if we have to move I will quit the job.

I am one hundred percent sure that the stadiums are up and running. These are not small stadiums. These are absolutely fantastic state-of-the-art stadiums. If you go to the press box I think you will definitely come and say that this is one of the best in the World. There is no doubt about it.

It is a pride. The feeling in my heart is unbelievable. How did this come up? When you walk into Khettarama you will see a totally brand new stadium that every Sri Lankan can be proud of that. Sri Lanka also has stadiums that are of World class.

Q: How did the weather conditions in the past effect in adding the finishing touches to the new stadiums?

A: Weather conditions are affecting naturally. But with the help of the State Engineering Corporation (SEC) and the Sri Lankan engineers we have found ways and means somehow to see that it finishes.

For an example they are constantly there and the moment the rain ceases even for one or two hours they will start their work. These days we only have to do the finishing touches. When it rains we do the interior finishing touches.

When it is not raining we do the exterior finishing touches. And we got to construct the inner roads which we have already done.

Q: What are the facilities you have provided for the foreign media and tourists at these venues?

A: Media personnel alone there will be 400/500 journalists coming from all over the world. There will be at least 10,000 foreigners who will be coming to see these matches. It is a pride when they come to a little country which had a war for over 30 years.

It is amazing how Sri Lankan engineers have taken this task and completed three stadiums within one year with all the constrains that we have had in the past.

Q: What kind of challenges that you faced during the construction of these stadiums?

A: When we started it somewhere in January/February last year there was rain, two to three months continuous rain.

When we are ending it there is rain. This construction has been done during one year in which we had almost six months of rain which we had never had in Sri Lanka before. That was the biggest constraint. At the end of the day all this credit goes to President Rajapaksa. It is his vision that we follow. He has given us the strength and the courage and I know he stands behind such work.

So when he gives us a task our job is to somehow finish it. When there are things of this nature the stature of the country will go up.

Rather than criticizing, at the end of the day see what happened to India? It is the media who said bad things about the stadiums and all. In Sri Lanka also unnecessarily some of the media not everybody one or two media people only criticized.

Q: What kind of assistance that you received from the Government?

A: Basically from the state we only had to ask and we got it. If our Chairmen D.S de Silva requested something such as when we knew when we felt that there might be a lagging behind we went to the President he gave us the army overnight. He said use the army every single way. For the last one year Chairman himself gets up at two/three in the morning goes to Hambanthota, goes to Pallekelle.

For the last one year he has been leading us from the front. And now he is at Pallekelle, tomorrow he will be at Hambanthota. So that has been the commitment. There has to be leadership, there has to be commitment, it was the leadership and the commitment that saw us through this episode.

Q: What really motivated you to continue with the task despite severe criticism?

A: Actually every single day I have been criticized. The more they criticize the more strength and the courage I got to become tougher and tougher. When things get tough the tough gets going. That was my moto.