Colombo’s changing face
by Prof. Bernard W. Dissanayake
Colombo is getting cleaner, greener and safer, much to the pride of
the entire country. Similar changes are taking place in suburbs such as
Nugegoda and Rajagiriya, thanks to the new management of the Urban
Development Authority (UDA) under the Ministry of Defence.
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View of a cleaner city |
It is refreshing to see the emergence of order, charm and beauty in
the Colombo city after years of squalor and chaos, especially over the
past 30 to 40 years. Mismanagement, maladministration and corruption in
the administration had ruined the order and propriety of the city,
spoiling the image of the elegant and beautiful Town Hall. The edifice
of the colonial administration had reflected the order and management of
the day.
The beautiful parks, playgrounds and tree-lined roads and streets
that had once earned Colombo the title ‘Garden City’, had faded out at
the hands of bad managers and administrators. Colombo, which was perhaps
the most beautiful tropical urban environment in the region, had gone
into decline and decay.
Stagnating city
The poor nomination process to select councillors to the Colombo
Municipal Council (CMC) often resulted in ineffective, inefficient and
corrupt councils during the last two/three decades. With the Open
Economy, things went from bad to worse, instead of improving. The result
was uncollected garbage, clogged drains and floods during rains,
outbreaks of deadly diseases and the emergence of unhygienic public
places in the city.
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Developments in the
Kotte Diyawanna area |
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The Diyawanna Complex |
This environment also bred the underworld, the drug menace, illicit
dealings and the black economy. Finally, it led to the creation of
vulnerable localities for the LTTE to penetrate and attack within the
city. The timely action by the Defence Ministry at the height of the
battle against terrorism saved Colombo from a massive explosion. The
action taken to protect the city, by eliminating underworld gangs, saved
Sri Lanka just as much as the operations of the Security Forces and the
Government in the North.
Colonial setting
Having taken over the Kandyan Kingdom in 1815, the British strategy
of developing a port-based economy for the then Ceylon, brought them big
dividends. Constructing a network of roads and railways leading from the
port city of Colombo, to the interior to develop plantations of tea,
rubber and coconut out of virgin forests led to a lucrative plantation
economy. Security and economic exploitation were the two main prongs of
their strategy in Ceylon.
This enabled Colombo to become a pre-eminent port city in South Asia,
if not Asia and a high-standing colonial administrative centre within
the British Empire. The close proximity to the British Raj in India,
particularly South India with a large pool of cheap labour, led to the
growth of the colonial economy here. The emergence of a South Indian
community as a minority group in the island and particularly in Colombo
was a promising factor for the economics and politics of the British
Raj.
British development of city
The British were aware of the flood plain status of the city being
located close to the river Kelani. They built a flood protection bund
along the river to prevent excessive flooding of the city during
monsoons. The relatively flat terrain of the flood plains allowed
lateral expansion of the city. The British used the canal system built
by the Dutch as a drainage system to take excess water to the sea,
rather than as a mode of transport. They also allowed the lagoons and
wetlands outside the city to absorb the excess water during monsoons.
As a result, housing developments and settlements in the city and
outside became ‘ribbon settlements’. Housing development fanned out of
the inner city which housed the export-import businesses and government
administrative offices. Outside the Municipal limits, small towns such
as Moratuwa, Dehiwala, Mount Lavinia, Nugegoda, Maharagama, Kelaniya and
Wattala developed to cater to the population employed in the city. This
was the pattern of growth in Colombo before 1948.
There had hardly been any serious physical planning, even though the
Town and Country Planning Act had good prescriptions to follow. Colombo
and the suburbs developed rather haphazardly without a master plan.
However, with a six to eight million population and the city area
probably holding under half a million, Colombo was a ‘caring city’. It
offered facilities such as parks and open spaces for the people to play
and relax in, a public library with branches in different locations, a
charity scheme for the poor administered by a Charity Commissioner, a
sewerage system, roads, a garbage collection system, good street
lighting, public toilets and pipe-borne water.
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The Wetland Park at
Nawala |
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The old Racecourse
building after refurbishment |
The British established an effective Municipal administration for
Colombo to ensure efficient management. They also took steps to maintain
the city’s tropical charm and beauty, keeping the city clean and
healthy. It had been reported that Colombo then was exceedingly elegant,
and provided high quality urban living, compared to, for example,
Singapore, the port city of British Malaya, South East Asia.
The charm and beauty surrounding the Town Hall and Vihara Maha Devi
Park (Victoria Park) lingered on for a few years after Independence.
Soon, with competitive party politics, things started sliding despite
the CMC remaining with one party (UNP) for nearly 55 years. The
conversion of Colombo beyond its colonial structure into a vibrant and
dynamic metropolis, appropriate for a newly independent nation, never
materialised, remaining a dream in the minds of people.
Post-Independence period
There was no terrorism in the country up to 1983 and peace prevailed.
The powerful government after 1977 was politically Colombo-based. A
strong Cabinet and a steamroller majority in Parliament also provided
the legislative and fiscal support to effect changes in the law to
develop the city. The Open Economy and access to and availability of
foreign aid provided a favourable environment for the then government to
turn Colombo in to a modern city.
Unfortunately, nothing of the sort happened, except location changes
for the Parliament and a few administrative offices shifting to Kotte.
This is the most pathetic story of Colombo after Independence.
There may have been a will to change, but a strategy for
transformation beyond the colonial mindset and trappings was missing.
Devoid of any structural change, Colombo limped on. It was forced to
accommodate a larger population and an increased volume of trade and
commerce with the same infrastructure facilities and administrative
capacity. The net results were overcrowding in the housing sector,
traffic congestion and pollution.
This increased the vulnerability of the city to natural and man-made
hazards. It became the ideal grounds for crime and diseases. There
emerged a setting for city politicos and other interested groups to
capture power and be in power by building vote-banks through the
promotion of urban slums in the city and elsewhere.
New role for Colombo
The present Government’s strategy, under the Mahinda Chinthana aims
at transforming Sri Lanka’s economy by diversifying and developing new
sectors with growth centres by tapping the island’s regional resource
potential and location advantages. With peace and stability, a strong
political leadership which is committed to development can make all the
difference in the island.
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New pavements being
laid |
This holds true for Colombo residents too. Improved material comforts
for all people, including those in remote villages, should be the goal.
People need a quality life, within a sustainable environment and we are
blessed with such a biodiversity. All it needs is effective leadership
promoting well designed socio-economic development.
Colombo has to play a new, more dynamic role in this transformation.
The urban renewal and development program undertaken by the new UDA
management in Colombo is thus praiseworthy.
The Authority, under the Defence Ministry with Defence Secretary
Gotabaya Rajapaksa must have realised the important role a clean and
safe urban environment, particularly in Colombo, plays in the important
national task of maintaining law and order after defeating terrorism and
establishing peace in the country.
The housing development it is implementing for the city’s
slum-dwellers is the most praiseworthy and economically sound component
of this program. It is heartening to note that a new, graceful outlook
is taking shape in Colombo after many years. This would fit very well
with the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo
(CHOGM) in November. |