People more keen to caste their vote:

UPFA victory certain - Eranga Senanayake

By Dhaneshi YATAWARA

Comprising 18 members, including the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor, the Gampaha Municipal Council was set up in 2002 . With nearly 33 Grama Niladhari Divisions, the Municipal Council is vested with the task of developing Gampaha which is one of the rapidly developing cities in the Colombo metropolitan periphery.

At the age of 22 Eranga Senanayake was elected Mayor of the Gampaha Municipal Council in 2006. Backed by a political family Senanayake succeeded in an effective political carrier. Confident of victory at the 2011 Municipal Council elections Senanayake spoke to the Sunday Observer during his busy schedule. Following are the excerpts:

Q: How is the election campaign progressing?

A: Very encouraging. People seem to be more enthusiastic to elect their representatives. We aim at victory and with the responses from the people we seems to be having a winning trend.

I was born and bred up in Gampaha, thus I'm aware of the needs of the people. Since I have been the Mayor of Gampaha Municipality from 2006 to 2011 and working closely with people I was able to understand the needs of the people as well as how to meet these demands more practically.

I'm very confident about our team as well. We are quite happy with the reception of the people.

Q: How do you plan to develop Gampaha?

A: Many of the development projects are either completed or on going.

We want the town to be more organised. Two main roads reaching the railway station and the bus stand have been upgraded.

The Library has been upgraded and will be opened soon. Nearly Rs. 330 million have been spent to upgrade the rural road network

within the Municipal Council area as well as in the district.

Within the Municipality more than 37 roads were upgraded. To be successful in developing the area we greatly need the Government's assistance.

Following my appointed as Mayor in 2006, the support extended by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Deputy Minister of Indigenous Medicine Pandu Bandaranayake gave a great boost to the development of the area.

When I was appointed Mayor of the Municipal Council was paying a Rs. 17 million loan.

The priority was to pay the loan by cutting down unnecessary expenses and increasing earnings. Overcoming this obstacle we had the

freedom to launch development programs. Upgrading the infrastructure is not the only aim of the Council. The town needs development to upgrade the lifestyle of the people.

Q: How do you intend to do that?

A: Gampaha is known as an area of the educated, intellectuals and sports personnel. The town should be suitable to meet the needs of such a crowd.

At the same time we need to develop a healthy nation.

Upgrading hospitals alone will not help achieve the objectives.

Having understood this we have been able to develop the town for sports and recreational activities.

Two jogging tracks are already under way. Several grounds will be upgraded like the playground of the Sri Bodhi Vidyalaya. The Urban Council ground will be upgraded with more facilities.

We were able to get back the Volleyball ground to the famous 'Siyane Tharu' sports club. During the earlier Municipal regime this was taken away from them.

Apart from this we intend to develop Yakkala and Miriswattha

into sub town areas. The maternity clinic was not in a good condition. We have developed it and hope to improve it further.

Q: What are the challenges to develop the Gampaha district?

A: There is a need for a proper garbage disposal system.

An advanced system was introduced and it will be further upgraded when we come into power. It is essential as it affects the health of the people. Roads are upgraded along with a proper drainage systems.

Nearly 25,000 people come to Gampaha for their daily needs. Most of them are schoolchildren. There should be facilities for their education as well. Daily over 12,000 people use the railway station. Gampaha railway station records the second highest income in the railway network.

The station and its facilities need to be upgraded soon. The platforms will be expanded and a special waiting area will be developed at the station.

The bridge that connects the two roads on either side of the station was neglected for several years. It was reconstructed during my tenure as Mayor.

Q: What is your opinion about the services of a Municipal Council?

A: The Municipal Council is part and parcel of the people in the area. Therefore it is essential for the MC to have clear idea about the people and the nature of the area and be more organised and effective in their services to the people.

Q: How confident are you about victory?

A: We will definitely win. We have been close to people. We understand the pulse of the people.