Kandy Municipal Council meeting :

Concrete machine lying idle without operator

H.A.W. Hewawasam - Kandy Special Correspondent

Mayor Mahendra Ratwatte chaired when the Kandy Municipal Council met on October 26, 2012.

Sarath Wijesinghe: The concrete machine that had been brought for the Council's road construction work is lying idle in the shed without being used, for nearly six months now. Unfortunately, there isn't a trained operator to operate the machine. I draw the attention of the Council to have a person trained for this work. The whole of the Kandy town is congested with unauthorized buildings. This must be rectified.

Raja Pushpakumara: Our Council runs smoothly and has moved forward with 50 percent good results. This is a progressive trend for which I thank the Mayor. The attitude of some news institutions not giving due honour and respect event to the President is regrettable. Why cannot they address the President as Honourable President? We should address the Mayor as Hon. Mayor and the Members as Hon. Members. Traffic congestion at Temple Street causes immense difficulties to foreign tourists who visit to the Dalada Maligawa.

Opposition Leader Neranjan Wijeratne: The Kandy lake is an environmental asset. Had King Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe lived today, he would lament to see it going to be a water tank. The original extent of the lake is further threatened.

Kandy is a World Heritage Centre, whose maintenance passes from hand to hand. Now it has fallen into the hands of the Urban Development Authority, whose beautification work affects the world heritage principles.

Let the public have their recreational facilities and walk elsewhere, leaving this historical lake aside where I find that walking parks are in progress. I strongly urge the Council to preserve the upcountry culture which could be alien to the UDA.

Our lake should be kept clean, pure and beautiful. Dirty water from nearby hotels and schools seem to be directed to the lake. This should be immediately looked into. Dengue is raising its head again but preventive methods should not be a challenge.

Lal Dharmasiri: I heard about an auction of discarded materials, unusable furniture and iron chairs. Auctions have to be arranged with due concern.

An iron chair auctioned for Rs. 200 was later found to have been sold by the buyer for Rs. 600 for scrap iron. I thank all the members for their participation in the Shramadhana project.