President at meeting with Muslims:
City uplift not at citizens’ expense
*External facelift not sufficient without improving living standards
*Better houses at same locations
Rasika SOMARATHNA
The measures at beautifying Colombo would not be at the expense of
city dwellers,President Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Saturday.
The President noted that an external facelift to the city would not
be sufficient without uplifting the people’s living standards.
President Rajapaksa added that measures to conserve and create a
pleasing environment in the city would go hand in hand with efforts at
meeting people’s expectations and needs to keep them contended and
happy.
Addressing a large gathering of Muslim citizens who had come to meet
him at Temple Trees with UPFA candidate for Colombo MC Azath Sally, the
President said that the government had no plans to evict tenement
dwellers from the city. He added that the government’s intention was to
uplift their living conditions by providing them with better equipped
housing units at the same locations they are now residing in.
He urged the tenement dwellers not to be misled by false rumours
spread by certain political activists to gain petty mileage.
President Rajapaksa recalled that when the LTTE forced mass evictions
of Muslims from their native villages in the North and East in the not
too distant past, those now claiming to be saviours of the community,
had failed to utter a word against the atrocities.
”All evicted Muslims had been resettled in their native places. The
properties they lost have been restored,” he added.
The President recalled that Muslim religious places which were
abandoned in these areas have also been restored and handed back to the
people.
President Rajapaksa urged the gathering to repose their trust and
stand by the government which had kept its promises and met the people’s
needs.
”After defeating terrorism the government’s focus now was on
developing the country for the benefit of the current and future
generation,” he added.
The President also donated a land worth Rs 32 million to the Khairiya
Muslim Girls College, Borella to expand their school facilities.
The school earlier had to hold classes in two sessions both in the
morning and in the afternoon due to lack of space.
UPFA candidate Azath Sally and Ministers Rajitha Senaratne, Johnston
Fernando and Faizer Mustapha also addressed the gathering. |