Pilgrims fleeced in Kataragama

M. Nelson Piyaratne - Kataragama group corr.

Pilgrims visiting the Kataragama sacred city from distant places fall prey to unscrupulous hoteliers as they do not display a price list in their hotels.

A group of pilgrims from Jaffna said they partook meals from a hotel at Kataragama town and the hotel owner had charged them Rs. 10 per string hopper and Rs 75 for a dish of potato curry. They said that they didn't experience such price hikes in north and east even during Prabhakaran's reign. As a result of these unfair charges, altercations occur between pilgrims and hoteliers but ultimately pilgrims are compelled to pay these high prices.

Price control officers come to Kataragama only rarely and that too during the Esala festival time.