The officials of Urban Development Authority (UDA) assisted by a riot police squad demolished the houses of Glenny Passage in Slave Island ignoring the interim injunction of the Supreme Court issued this morning (18).
The Supreme Court order was informed to UDA after eight houses were demolished but the temporarily stopped demolition was restarted with riot police guard using back haws later. UDA officials said they were not aware of a Supreme Court ruling.
UDA did not allow the the residents to remove their belongings and demolished the houses using back haws. The residents attempted to stop the action amidst riot police attacks of tear gas.
WHAT TYPE OF BARBARIANS IS THIS GOVERNMENT I FEEL WE ARE ONLY CREATING MORE HAVOC AND HATRED AND EXTENDING THE LIEN OF ENMITY IN COLOMBO. THIS NEWS MUST BE PUBLISHED INTERNATIONAL SO THAT ALL THE VISITING SUMMIT OFFICIALS CAN SEE THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHT IN SRI LANKA AND IS RUN BY A FAMILY OF THUGS AIYA, MALI, AKKA, AMMA, DUWA
Where is Fowsy? where is that Street Governor Moulana? These are the humbugs whose hearts bled for the poor of this country till they were elected. If this was done by the UNP in power today, then MR and the progressives of this country would have by now set the whole country on fire. The manner how Ranil is conducting the party in the Opposition is exemplarily.
via mail by LankaeNews
July 19, 2008 at 3:30 pm
The money spent on “SAARC facelift” could have spent on development!! What about the unauthorized structures put up by MR and his GOSL F^uck up’s and the rich, powerful and the influential in the heart of the city and even in HSZ?
July 19, 2008 at 3:43 pm
The most feared of the regimes is a dictatorship. It is the people who can overthrow a Govt. which shows those trends. The Rajapakse regime has created a record by becoming the Govt. Which has failed in every policy, plan, program and promise it made to the people; and now, unable to stem the country’s total economic collapse it is fast heading, is experimenting with people’s lives and livelihoods.
July 19, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Police back haws demolished 48 shops in Kotte Road, Rajagiriya today (16) under an order of Sri Jayawardhanapura Municipal Council covering to the security of the state heads attending the SAARC summit.
These shops were provided by former Mayor Chandra de Silva (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) in 1992 and the shop owners paid monthly rentals to the Sri Jayawardhanapura Municipal Council.
The present Mayor took steps to demolish the shops with short notice. The shop owners’ appeal to give time to shift the items in the shops was also unheeded.
The Mayor was not kind enough to provide with alternative places for these minor vendors. The current Mayor is the wife of former Mayor late Mr. Chandra de Silva.
Some vendors lived in these shops with their families and they have lost their dwelling as well now.
Weeping vendors and their families before the demolished shops brought tears to the eyes of the passers-by. Most of them have made their living from these shops for around 20 years.
Niroshan Agalakola says, “I have been making a living for 15 years by selling ‘kola kenda’ (broth). Two persons came last evening around 3 PM announced that the shops would be demolished the following morning. We have been paying taxes to the Municipality since 15 years. We pay rental and monthly electricity bills too. We have no written pledges to provide with alternative places. We have been put to road. We do not know what to do since tomorrow. I have to run a family of five.”
Ms. Devika, a shop owner said, “Two gentlemen came in a car yesterday and said that the shops would be demolished today. We do not know who they are. We met the Mayor at once. She said that it was an order from higher authorities. This shop was our dwelling place too. Now we have been put to road. We request from the authorities to provide with an alternative place.”
The Officer-in-Charge of Welikada police said to Lanka-e-News that the buildings were demolished for the security of the state heads participating in the SAARC summit.
Our attempts to contact the Mayor failed.