'Govt. to eliminate all public menaces'

Sandasen MARASINGHE

The public plays a major role in eliminating the drug menace, underworld, dengue and other nature related issues in Colombo and its support is essential as the government is taking every probable measure to achieve that end, said the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday.

He said that there was no point in living in Colombo even though the government develops it if menaces pester the people.

He said that the government pumps massive amounts of money to develop Colombo city through many projects as the city is owned by the entire population of the country and also gives the first impression to foreign investors, tourists etc, that would benefit the future generations.

The Defence Secretary made this observation at a ceremony to handover four mobile jetting and vacuum Trucks worth around Rs 164 million to the Colombo Municipal Council with funds of Asian Development Bank to sort out waste water disposal. This consignment is the first of a set of trucks that is required to solve the waste water disposal issue in Colombo completely.

Defence Secretary Rajapaksa further said that the government has already initiated to construct 10,000 houses for low income earners in the Colombo city while another project will be initiated to construct a set of 10,000 houses within this year to be handed over to recipients between April and August next year.

He said that the government spends a remarkable amount of money for garbage disposal in the Colombo city, hence the public has a pivotal role to keep the city clean.

He added that the Navy maintains the cleanliness of the Beira Lake every day. The Lake was so polluted that at the inception of the project the Navy personnel who engaged in the project fell sick frequently.

He also said that he reminds the mayor always that the Colombo Municipal Council had to pay attention to the issues of garbage, drainage, roads and pavements in Colombo as they are essential to provide a proper service to the people in Colombo and those who arrive in the city every day.

He added though the government allocated funds massively it was pointless if the officers in the related institutions do not perform their work properly.

He added that the officers too have to play a proper role to provide a better service for the public utilizing these funds.

Local Government and Provincial Councils Minister M L M Athgaulla, Colombo Mayor A J M Muzammil, Colombo Municipal Council Opposition Leader M Maharoof, Local Government and Provincial Council Ministry Secretary Dr Nihal Jayathissa also spoke at the occasion.

Local Government and Provincial Councils Deputy Minister Indika Bandaranayake also was present on the occasion.