New Mayor unveils development plans for Galle

By Ananda KANNANGARA

The newly elected Mayor for the Galle Municipal Council Methsiri de Silva last week thanked the people of Galle for extending their unstinted support once again for him to become the Mayor and pledged to fulfil all his promises made during the election period.

He said his main task was to complete the remaining work that he commenced during the past few months.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer, the new Mayor said he won the last week's election with a clear majority as people placed their faith in him even irrespective of their party politics.

"I am aware that the supporters of my political party the UPFA as well as the members of other political parties voted for me at the past week's election, considering that I started almost all development activities in the Galle area not for the benefit of a few, but for all," he said.

A popular figure in the field of politics in the Galle District, Methsiri had no doubt of his victory and becoming the Mayor again. He is efficient and hardworking.

An old boy of Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa and Lumbini Vidyalaya in Colombo, Methsiri entered Sri Jayewardenepura University in 1982 and holds a degree in Economics and Business Studies. A father of two sons and a daughter, Methsiri highly commended the encouragement always extended by his wife in his political life. Methsiri is also a popular lecturer in the area.

Galle has an ancient background and the centuries-old world famous fort is a fine example to this.

People of all communities including the majority Sinhalese, Muslims, Tamils and Malays have been living there in unity and harmony for the past decades. The new Mayor said he loves people irrespective of their caste, creed or religion and it was the secret of his victory.

Following are the excerpts of the interview:

Q: When did you start your political career ?

A: I started politics in 1991 by being the Secretary of the Youth League in Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP). Since then, I have been holding various positions in the MEP and also the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) upto now. I had been the Mayor of Galle from 2009 to 2011. I was also the Opposition Leader in the MC from 2002 to 2006. In addition I was the Chairman of the Galle Environment Society from 1997 to 2002.

Q: As a politician what's your vision ?

A: I was born to help the people and I am very lucky to be in active politics in the Galle District to fulfil this obligation. My only expectation is to carry out development activities for the benefit of all people irrespective of their party politics. Even the motto of my election manifesto was `Methsiri de Silva to complete the remaining work in Galle'. This motto clearly reflects my obligation towards the development of Galle area.

Q: What have you stated in your manifesto ?

A: I have mentioned about the work that I had carried out during my tenure as the Mayor and as a member of the MMC. I have also stated about future development programs which I expect to carry out in the coming years.

Q: You said you have already completed a large volume of work in Galle during the past few years ? Can you brief about the major work that you had completed ?

A: I took prompt action to construct buildings and houses that were devastated by the Tsunami in 2004 at Heenpalla area. I also removed unauthorised structures in the Galle city and provided suitable places to people who were affected. In addition, I introduced a proper garbage disposal system and accordingly the garbage in the city and suberban areas are now collected two times a day. Programs were also commenced to clear dengue breeding grounds at junctions, bus stands, school premises and religious places. All main roads in Galle were carpeted, while by-roads were concreted.

Q: What are your future plans ?

A: Although we completed so much of development work in the past, still there is some important work to be done, according to the day-to-day increasing number of population.

Q: What are your plans to develop the most important agriculture and fishing industry in the district?

A: A large number of families in the district depends on these industries, therefore the development of these two industries are very important. I have plans to help farmer communities by having regular discussions with them. I must look into their grievances. Help them to get bank loans. Assist them to obtain fertiliser on time. In addition, the fishing community is also rendering a yeoman service . They too have day-to-day problems and we must always help them solve their problems.

Q: Galle has become the tourist hub in the South. The day-to-day tourist arrivals in Galle is showing a marked improvement, but, there is a shortage of facilities for them to enjoy. How do you develop the tourism sector?

A: I have already discussed with Sri Lanka Tourism to develop the tourism sector in the Galle District. We have programs to clean beaches and few other ancient places to enable tourists to visit.

Q: What are the other facilities you expect to provide to people of Galle .

A: Some rural areas should have playgrounds. We need more health care centres for people living in distant areas. I also have plans to open libraries for the benefit of the younger generation. More vehicle parks should be established. We also have plans to start day care centres and pre-schools for children

Q: Some village schools in the district have no better facilities like many other popular schools. What are your plans to develop such schools ?

A: Generally, National schools are maintained by the Central Government and others are by the Provincial Council. But, the MC also expects to help schools in the district by providing the children with necessary educational equipment including computers as well as sports equipment. We also have plans to organise sports events between schools in the District and also with other provinces.

Q: what are the other programs that you have generally planned to carry out in Galle?

A- Among other proposals, we have also planned to establish paper recycling plants , so that papers that are collected from household, shops and from heaps of garbage could be recycled. I have also plans to start an anti-smoking and anti-alcohol campaign with the help of schoolchildren in the area. Accordingly, we will hold awareness programs in schools, religious places and offices to educate people on the dangers of alcohol and smoking.

According to a recent research, we have found that many schools and pre-schools in the area lack sports goods. We have plans to provide sports goods as well as books to libraries . The transport services are not successful on several rural roads during night-time and therefore we have plans to deploy additional buses at that time for the benefit of workers in free trade zones and other places.