Massive development under way in Hambantota

by Shirajiv SIRIMANE

As the legendary writer Leonard Wolf once said, Hambantota had been a district that was looked down and ignored for decades, during British rule and after Independence.

Though millions of people passed the town on their way to Kataragama, none stopped there as there was nothing to either see or buy from the city other than curd and treacle.

Minister of Water Management, Ports and Civil Aviation Chamal Rajapaksa said there were even organised gangs in the city at one time: hence there was an unofficial curfew with drivers even refusing to drive there at night.

During the late 1970s the Southern Development Authority (SDA) was formed. However, as far as Hambantota was concerned, the SDA remained just a nameboard.

However, a streak of development was seen after the two Rajapaksa brothers, Chamal and Mahinda were elected as Ministers, representing the district.

Undoubtedly, Hambantota development started off with the commissioning of the Hambantota Harbour project. With it several other major infrastructure facilities, which had been lacking for decades, have fallen in to place in Hambantota. This includes the construction of the second international airport at Mattala, a convention hall, administrative buildings, a night safari park, a botanical garden, one of the region's most modern tele-villages at Ranmihitenna and the Southern Province's tallest building, the 15-storey administrative complex at the Hambantota harbour. The road network has also been developed to international standards and today, people are converging on the city to witness the ongoing development.

Minister Rajapaksa had been a key figure in transforming Hambantota to one of the most developed cities outside the Western Province.

Minister Rajapaksa told the Sunday Observer that the first phase of the Hambantota Port project would be completed by the end of this year and also that the first plan would land at Mattala next year.

The Southern Development Authority, which was dormant, is now active again. It has organised the Hiru Negena Giruwaya program with 40 houses being vested with low-income dwellers in the Suriyawewa area and the donation of 1,000 spectacles to visually handicapped persons.

It has also negotiated with investors and Laugfs is now building an LP gas terminal in Hambantota.

Showing his commitment to the agricultural sector, the Minister initiated the reopening of the Bata Atha agricultural centre which was closed for many years. Today, it is a major local and foreign tourist attraction. The drip irrigation system which was also introduced by him to the farmers has been very successful, with farmers producing higher yields. Though the district is not included in the Coconut Triangle, the Minister initiated a program to promote coconut cultivation in the area and even went to the extent of opening a sub-station of the Coconut Research Institute in Middeniya.

The Government plant nursery at Middeniya which was to be sold to the private sector for a 'song' was redeveloped and turned into a profit-making venture.

Health development in the area too came under his attention as the Hambantota hospital was transformed as a base hospital while new medical equipment was provided to other hospitals in the area, saving the lives of thousands.

The newly constructed Chamal Rajapaksa Ayurvedic Teaching Hospital at Hambantota was also opened at a cost of Rs. 400 million. It includes five wards, a two-and-a half acre herbal garden, clinic for tourists, a drug manufacturing unit and a research unit.

The Beliatta Crematorium, built at a cost of Rs. 8,400,000, was also opened recently by the Minister who completed 20 years in active politics last year.

One of the burning problems in the area was the lack of drinking water and speedy solutions are being provided with a series of irrigation project being launched. Menik Ganga (Weheragala Irrigation Project) is one such project being constructed at a cost of Rs. 1,772 million. This would also provide irrigation facilities to cultivate 3100 hectares, through a 23km canal from Weheragala. It would also provide drinking water for 3000 families in Lunugamwehera.

The Minister's focus was not only on Hambantota; his vision was extended to accelerate development all over Sri Lanka.

The Colombo airport saw many facilities being introduced including a transit hotel, while the Colombo Port and Galle harbour expansion plans too were expedited.

Sri Lanka's irrigation projects supply water to about 60 percent of cultivation lands. Irrigation development that took place last year is the largest growth that has been registered since Sri Lanka's Independence, with 10 Multi-purpose Irrigation Projects being implemented simultaneously all over Sri Lanka including the North and the East at a cost of over Rs. 2 billion. These projects would all contribute to usher in prosperity to Sri Lanka.