No solace for Borella shanty dwellers

by Nilma Dole

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At first glance, Ramya seems like any bubbling one-year-old baby with a cherubic smile and charming gurgles. However, behind those baby eyes lurk a dark secret.

She is battling a blood infection and her health condition is worsening daily, says the Community Doctor, Dr. M. A. G. S. Rathnawardena.

Baby Ramya lives in a 5x5 shanty which she shares with her family close to the railway track.

Everytime a train passes, the foundation shakes vigorously as if to collapse any moment. When it rains, the nearby drain overflows into their dwelling with nearly two feet of dirty water. Baby Ramya lives at 160, Cotta Road, Colombo-08.

Even though the ‘Samithi’ or the Community Development and Social Service Society of 16, Cotta Road, Borella helps the shanty community, its leader, trishaw driver Morgan Kumar said that “Previously in 1984 there were 26 houses in the area and many found it easy to seize possession of land and build their houses”.

He said people can’t live here by force because the Urban Development Authority (UDA) said that they initially planned the town in such a way that rainwater from roads flows to the drains near the Cotta Railway Station.

The biggest problem is that these slums are on the reservation site of the Railway Department and the responsibility lies on them. When contacted the General Manager of the Railway Department, Dr. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan said, “It is not the Railway Department’s mandate to offer alternative land for shanty dwellers. We believe in evicting all those who have seized possession of the land on the railway reservation site.”

He said that shanties on the Kelaniya bridge and in Peradeniya have been cleared where dual-crossing of the railway track is in progress. “There are organisations and ministries to help those living in slums if they are evicted because the railway track is not a place to live,” Dr. Gunaruwan said.

Previously, reports indicated that the most number of crimes were committed in Borella, compared to the other zones in Colombo. O.I.C Borella Police J. P. S. Jayamaha said, “Even though Borella is at the epicentre of criminal activity, the present security situation has impelled us to carry constant checks. We have ensured that criminal activities in Borella is kept under control,” he said.