Plans to make Nuwara Eliya Little England once again

Sandasen MARASINGHE

The modern history of Nuwara-Eliya, the enchanting Little England, begins in 1818 when a British Surgeon, Dr. John Davy, rediscovered this area. It is said that Dr Davy expressed his wonderment and said, "I was walking in the middle of a forest. I saw beautiful, white, shining diamond watered waterfalls. I came to the top of a mountain. The people who came with me said it is the highest land of this country." Dr. John Davy also said this place has so many 'Ashoka' trees, elephants, wild animals and gem stones.

Since then many changes occurred in Nuwara Eliya and the Municipal Council was set up in 1949. For nearly 32 years, the UNP secured power in the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council. Much has changed since then where several politicians changed parties and mayors left the UNP and rallied round the UPFA.

The Daily News interviewed people who are involved in the hotel industry, traders, women, youths and those of many other professions to obtain their views. Some avoided revealing their political affiliations but expressed their general views.

The Assistant Manager of the Grand Hotel in Nuwara Eliya, Nazeem Mohamed said the end of the three decade prolonged terrorism had a lot of benefits to the tourism industry and there was an increase of tourist arrivals.

He said with the unique climate in Nuwara Eliya, it has become a popular destination among tourists. "So far the majority is budget clients and we expect other tourists as well during the upcoming season. Therefore, as hoteliers, the Grand Hotel is making many renovations to the hotel to cater to the needs of the increasing number of tourists", he said.

The public areas should also be developed to attract tourists, he said. "There is a need to create further opportunities for recreational activities in Nuwara Eliya. The Gregory's Lake was renovated recently and beautified by the government which was a long felt need. However, there is more room to develop Nuwara Eliya as a tourist destination and bring in foreign revenue. Shopping arcades should be set up, cable cars could be introduced and an air taxi service could be regularized to develop the tourism industry," Nazeem added.

Nuwara Eliya Golf Club Secretary Rienzie Perera said golf is part of the identity of Nuwara Eliya. "There is a subtle increase in tourists coming to play golf. There should be a mechanism to further increase tourist arrivals by promoting golf to interested tourists as those who play golf are mostly from the elite class who could bring a lot of foreign income. Authorities have failed to realize that the arrival of one golf-loving tourist is better than the arrival of hundred ordinary tourists", Perera said adding, "the local authorities have done nothing so far to create an environment or infrastructure to attract such tourists. Waste water is flowing to the golf ground. Although we brought this matter to the local authorities, the problem remains unsolved. There should be a drastic change in these areas to develop Nuwara Eliya and the tourism industry to bring foreign revenue to country".

Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council former Mayor Nalini Thilaka Herath said Nuwara Eliya is loosing many features that define it as a unique tourism destination. One is the architecture of colonial times. In the past, it was compulsory to construct buildings in keeping with these colonial features while construction of buildings

over two stories was not allowed as it obstructed the scenery. She said this was the rule during her time as mayor but this has drastically changed as many buildings have been constructed with many stories without any accepted architectural value. The Municipal Council has not taken any action against them. In addition, the sewerage systems, tree planting campaigns, city beautifying projects etc have been seriously neglected, Herath said. "This should be changed. There should be plans to attract tourists to Nuwara Eliya. We have to make Nuwara Eliya, Little England again. I know the government is taking many measures to develop Nuwara Eliya. Gregory's Lake is restored very well. There are many foreign governments who are willing to fund the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council for such projects. The Council should get educated and strong leaders. Although I am a former mayor elected from the UNP, I support the UPFA team led by Tissa Seneviratne. I think they will take all measures to realize the vision of the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council to create the most beautiful and environmental-friendly city in Sri Lanka. A large number of UNPers are supporting the UPFA this time to develop Nuwara Eliya", she said.

Sinhala and Tamil Rural Women's Network Chairperson and Nuwara Eliya Provincial Council Member Vimali Karunaratne said most of the women in Nuwara Eliya support the UPFA this time. She said, "our network functions in Nuwara Eliya, Trincomalee and many other areas. This organization was set up in 1988. Most of the women in Nuwara Eliya are members of this organization. They expressed their support to the UPFA team this time as they are confident the Municipal Council along with the government would provide more benefits to women who contribute a lot to the national income by being engaged in agriculture even without the ownership of land.

Kanduratata Tharunya organization General Secretary Ajantha Kumara said youths have laid trust in the UPFA team. He said, "our organization works to bring youths to Nuwara Eliya by implementing educational, sports and agriculture development programmes and providing them knowledge about business.

Nearly 1,000 youths are members of this organization. We support the UPFA this time as we have confidence in that team as they have good understanding about the burning issues of youths in Nuwara Eliya".

Nuwara Eliya Madyama Velanda Sangamya President Ajith Jayasinghe said although most of the former UNP teams gave impressive pledges in their manifestos, they never fulfilled them. The UPFA team has also given many pledges this time but we are confident that they will fulfill them under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the way his team succeeded in defeating terrorism.