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The Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council is one of the oldest local bodies in the island and was upgraded as a Municipal Council in 1949. There had been 13 Mayors since its inception and the forthcoming election will be for the 14th Mayor. The UPFA, UNP, SLMC and four independent groups are in the fray to capture power in the Nuwara Eliya MC and the election campaign is currently at its peak. The Sunday Observer contacted the team leader of the UPFA Tissa Seneviratne to obtain his views about the present political position, election campaign and his chances of securing power for the UPFA. Excerpts of the interview are as follows:
A: Not only my father, my grandfather D. A. Seneviratne too was a former mayor of Nuwara Eliya. My uncle, D.R. Seneviratne too was a former mayor under the green banner. I am a very independent thinker and I have analysed the performances of all our national leaders of the two main parties. I am very much impressed with President Mahinda Rajapaksa owing to a number of reasons; the main reason being the way he handled the LTTE's brutal terrorism which had been a cancer to the nation for well over two and a half decades. His vision for the country forthright attitude, courage, determination and affable ways impressed me very much. That is why I decided to get myself actively involved in politics under the blue banner and help the present rulers in whatever way possible while reaping the benefits for the Nuwara Eliya people. I worked for the victory of President Rajapaksa even when some of the present day Ministers were working against him. Q: Nuwara Eliya has been a bastion of the United National Party from its inception. There are a number of reasons for this. The community composition in the MC area is one of the main reasons. In addition to that, it had been selected as the best municipal council in the island in 2006 and placed second and third in the subsequent years. The Nuwara Eliya MC had also been rated as the best local body in the hill country and even the province. In such a situation, do you think that you would be able to lead your team to victory at the October 8 elections? A: It is true that the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council area has been a UNP bastion in the past under the able mayoralty of my grandfather, my father and uncle. It has been the case until recently, but at present the situation is entirely different. Let me explain to you the political situation in Nuwara Eliya at present. The United National Party doesn't have a single Parliamentarian representing the district at present. The UPFA has three Senior Ministers in addition to Parliamentarians and all their resources, entitlements and development projects are centred in and around Nuwara Eliya by which the MC area people have immensely benefited. Yes, about the community composition of Nuwara Eliya, I would like to say the total number of registered voters in MC area is a little over 18,000 of which about 52 percent is Sinhalese, about 40 percent are Tamils and the balance of a little over 1,500 being Muslims. You know the Tamils respect their leader Arumugam Thondaman as a god. At present the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) is a member of the UPFA. We have a few nominees of the CWC contesting the elections in our UPFA list whereby we are confident of mustering the support of over 90 percent of the Tamil votes in Nuwara Eliya. In previous elections, the CWC was aligned with the United National Party and that is one of the main reasons why the UNP polled more than the UPFA in Nuwara Eliya. We also have a strong Muslim candidate who command the respect and admiration of the Muslim community. We are sure that he would be able to attract the majority of the Muslim votes for us at the election. In addition to all these advantages, I have to very proudly state that three of the former UNP mayors of Nuwara Eliya are actively involved in supporting me to become the next mayor of Nuwara Eliya under the UPFA banner. This is because they have realised that the last MC administration was corrupt, negligent and inefficient. Q: If it was corrupt and inefficient, how was it rated one of the best local bodies in the country? A: There are certain things that I can't disclose to the public, but I have taken all possible measures even during my last tenure as an opposition member in the council. I had to fight alone battle in the council since the former Mayor had the support of a majority of their councillors to work according to his whims and fancies. Q: However, it has been observed that Nuwara Eliya is becoming more attractive, the number of tourist arrivals has rapidly increased during the past few years and the MC is generating substantial revenue at present. What can you say about it? A: It is true, but it is not because of the efficiency of the MC or its administration. The government has taken various steps under the guidance of Minister Basil Rajapaksa to promote tourism in Nuwara Eliya. It has been identified as a potential tourist destination and there is coordination with other authorities and organisations to attract more tourists to Nuwara Eliya by the Central Government. Under the city beautification and development programme launched by the government on a national scale, Nuwara Eliya was fortunate enough to obtain massive amount of funds through JAICA and the Urban Development Authority who are directly involved in this gigantic project. It is very discouraging to state that, at times the attitude of the previous UNP regime of the MC had been a stumbling block to carry out these innovative projects. That is exactly why we request our city folk to support the UPFA to elect efficient city rulers who genuinely love the MC area much more than their personal gains and benefits. Q: As the group leader for Nuwara Eliya of the United People's Freedom Alliance, what is your main theme in spearheading your election campaign? A: City development is my main theme. I have already presented my election manifesto to the city folk and it is multi-faceted. We hope to resurrect and develop all important areas and aspects of the city dwellers which had been badly neglected for the last few years. I have prioritised my development program for the city. As an urgent and immediate necessity, we should provide drinking water to the people which the city do not enjoy at present. The sewerage canals and drainage system are in a deplorable condition. Once we conducted a dengue eradication program in the city, and the people who were involved in cleaning the backyards of the market place and some hotels couldn't consume their regular meals for days. After seeing for themselves the filthy and unhygienic condition of the backyard drains and the odour emanating from them. When we come to power, I hope to fully modernise the sewerage system of the city as an urgent point of my program. I have already initial discussions with experienced and qualified professionals in respect of the provision of healthcare services, education, sanitary facilities, self-employment, agriculture development, housing and tourism promotion in the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council area. Q: What is your message to the voters? A: Please vote the UPFA into power to establish a corrupt-free, clean and efficient municipal council. |
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Q: You hail from a strong UNP background and your father was an
Ex-Mayor of Nuwara Eliya under the green banner. What made you select
the SLFP or rather the UPFA to do politics? 
