A new-look city
Colombo is fast turning out to
be an eco-friendly city, compared to most other cities in the region. A
few years ago, people even in their wildest dreams would never have
visualised that Colombo would soon turn out to be such a clean and green
city.
In the recent past, no emphasis whatsoever was given to town
planning.
Consequently, there was heavy traffic congestion, air pollution and
mountains of garbage in Colombo and the suburbs. Illegal constructions
had the patronage of politicians of past regimes from time to time.
These makeshift constructions and indiscriminate filling of marshy
lands in and around Colombo, mostly by political henchmen, caused
flooding and traffic jams and posed severe health threats. A large
number of politicians in the past turned a Nelsonian eye to this problem
as they were more concerned about the votes of the masses. They cared
two hoots about the poor living conditions of those in shanties or
making Colombo a cleaner city.
The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government, led by
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, does not work merely to secure votes, but
to win the hearts of the masses by providing them a secure future.
Deviating from the hackneyed politics practised in Sri Lanka in the
past, President Rajapaksa introduced a new culture under which the
country's sovereignty and the well-being of the masses take precedence.
The President is convinced that winning the hearts of people is by
far more important than grabbing votes with loads of hollow promises
during election time. This was one of the reasons why he refrained from
making election pledges during the 2005 and 2010 presidential elections.
Instead, he introduced a novel concept of a visionary statement.
The President's Mahinda Chinthana, which he presented during the 2005
presidential election campaign, was a policy statement approved by the
masses wholeheartedly. Having achieved all goals set in the Mahinda
Chinthana during his first four years in office, President Rajapaksa
reached out to the masses again in January 2010 to seek a fresh mandate
for the Mahinda Chinthana Idiri Dakma , which attracted an overwhelming
response. This resulted in the President securing a landslide victory at
the January 26 elections.
Hence, President Rajapaksa will continue his policies fearlessly in
the best interests of the country and its people. Upgrading
infrastructure facilities is one of his prime goals and developing the
capital city is one of the initial steps towards the goal of becoming
the Wonder of Asia.
As Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa highlighted recently, town
planners have to play a major role in making Sri Lanka the Wonder of
Asia.
Town planning should be realistic. Co-ordination and dialogue are
needed to implement town planning in a successful manner. While ridding
the city and its suburbs of shanties, the Government will invariably
find better houses for them elsewhere. In doing so, the living standards
of those belonging to the low-income groups too would also be improved
to solve their housing problems.
According to 1998 estimates, around 65,000 families live in shanties
and it is estimated that this number has ballooned to 75,000. In other
words, half of the population residing in the Colombo city lived in
shanties.
Large sums of money are needed to find alternative houses for these
families and at least Rs. 2.5 million is required to resettle each
family.
As the Defence Secretary had quite rightly pointed out, the time is
now opportune for town planning to swing into action. The authorities
need to find huge sums to construct new houses. Resistance from certain
quarters could be expected as resistance to change is a human trait.
Nevertheless, people should think positively of the improved living
conditions that they are bound to receive. Affording a better lifestyle
for the people is what matters most and not the acquisition of valuable
land, as the Defence Secretary has said.
There is a considerable number of unauthorised structures on valuable
lands, which could be exploited for better business ventures. Investors
could recover their investment at any time while finding a safe haven
for those living in shanties. The vision of the Government is to develop
all major cities and link them with an express road network. It is no
easy task but the Government is determined to meet the challenge and
transform cities to bring them on par with other developed countries in
the region.
There has been an overwhelming response to development and
beautifying ventures that are being carried out in the city of Colombo.
Beautifully laid footpaths, architecturally-designed roundabouts and
centre islands decorated with flowers and flowerpots are transforming
Colombo into an eco-friendly city. The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC)
had been headed by powerful UNP Mayors for most of the time, but nothing
worthwhile was done to improve the living standards of the shanty folk.
The UNP eyed only the votes of the masses, promising them everything
under the sun. The UNP should take the major share of the blame for the
sufferings of the poorest of the poor in the city.
The UNP mayors are no longer running the CMC. It is currently being
administered by a Special Commissioner. Nevertheless, the CMC is now
doing a praiseworthy job unlike in the past several decades. The Urban
Development Authority (UDA) is also extending its fullest support to
transform Colombo into a new-look city.
More importantly, it is not only the citizens of Colombo who benefit
due to the ongoing city beautification program, but also the thousands
of people who flock to the city daily for employment and other purposes.
Private sector institutions engaged in business in the city also
benefit from the program immensely. Hence, conglomerates should live up
to their standard as true corporates by supporting the CMC to re-design
and maintain the city roundabouts, enhancing the beautification of the
centre islands on the main streets.
It is the bounden duty of all citizens and those who enter the city
from the outstations to pay more attention to keep their surroundings
clean and actively contribute to the Government's efforts in making the
capital city a hallmark of the nation. |