Over to you Transport Minister and Environment Minister

We, the residents of Sri Dharmarama Road, Rathmalana wish to explain to you the frustration and the anger envisaged by us regarding the shabby treatment given to us which is very humiliating, inconveniencing and costly by the Lunawa Environmental Improvement and Development Project which is being carried out by a foreign company which has been entrusted to carry out the construction of drains on this road.

The construction work of the drains commenced as far back as 2006 and even though eight months have passed, neither the construction work of the drains have been completed nor has the road that has been broken by this company has been repaired, causing inconsiderable inconvenience to the residents who are undergoing untold difficulties due to the failure to repair the broken road.

I wish to mention here that the drains have been constructed in a haphazard manner and water does not get drained off but gets collected which has now become a prolific breeding place for mosquitoes which has considerably increased the number of dengue fever sufferers and other insect borne diseases in the area.

One child has already died of dengue fever and several residents are currently suffering from dengue fever and other diseases. Further the gravel dug for the construction of the drains have not been fully removed and most of it has fallen back to the drains and thereby obstructing the smooth flow of water.

During rainy days, the road gets flooded and water gets collected in the pot-holes due to the non-repair of the broken road.

When a vehicle passes, the muddy water gets splashed on to the clothes of the pedestrians and school children using this road.

It is really pathetic to see the tears of children when muddy water is splashed on their clothes.

Sri Dharmarama road is a hive of activity throughout the day and during Poya days, hundreds of devotees flock to the ancient temple (Sri Dharmarama Rajamaha Vihara which is the oldest and the largest temple in Rathmalana) for religious activities.

All the devotees are confronted with the task of evading the pot-holes filled with muddy water and sometimes children holding hands of their parents fall into the pot holes and the water gets splashed on their dresses and water soaks the shoes and socks.

Due to the construction of the drains undertaken without due consideration being given to the concrete lamp posts that are erected, the drains have been cut using bull-dozers hereby causing concrete lamp posts to be uprooted and are on the verge of falling on houses, parapet walls or on to the road and in the event of a fall on pedestrian or a child passing and kills the person, your company will be sued for compensation.

We are very surprised to see that this company has not given any consideration to the fact that high tension electric cables are running on these lamp posts and falling of one of these lamp posts could cause incalculable damages to human lives and properties.

In addition to the pedestrians using the road, hundreds of vehicles such as cars, vans, lorries, three-wheelers, bull-dozers etc. use the road and daily the pot-holes become larger and deeper.

Recently on a rainy day, a vehicle fell into a large pot-hole and broke the shock-absorbers and the pedestrians had to help the driver to move the vehicle in the rain which caused a traffic block and finally the vehicle had to be towed away.

If the owner of the car was aware of his legal rights, he would have sued the company for the damages suffered by his car due to the negligence of the company doing this construction work.

When after a couple of showers, the road becomes dry and when vehicles pass the pot-holes, the granite gets loosened and gravel which has turned into dust rises above the road and not only settles on boundary walls, but also enters houses and settles on the houses, furniture, floors, televisions, computers, radios, music centers sewing machines other expensive electrical equipment, vehicles etc.

Slowly but surely they enter these expensive but necessity items and making them ineffective and when taken for repairs, it is divulged that dust has entered the machines and certain parts have got corroded and the articles are beyond repair.

We are personally aware that some residents had to replace computers costing over Rs. 100,000 due to the negligence of the company to complete the repair of the road and the drains properly within a reasonable time.

The excessive dust that has been generated by this construction work for the past eight months have been inhaled by the young children and the elderly residents (still being inhaled) of this road and some of them have developed severe illnesses.

In this respect, we are sorry, angry and frustrated to state that neither the construction of the drains nor the repair of the road has been duly completed even after a lapse of eight months.

Residents of Sri Dharmarama Road