Businesses Agree to Fund Dalada Veediya Facelift

Banks and business houses in Dalada Veediya have agreed in principle to a request from the recently formed KMC-Kandy Business Joint Development Committee coordinated by the Central Province Chamber of Comerce and Industries. to fund the proposed facelift of Dalada Veediya. Deputy Mayor Suminda Wickremasinghe who chairs the Committee told The Kandy News that the project was discussed at a meeting that was attended by representatives of more than 90% of the Dalada Veediya business community. Those attending have agreed to favourably consider the request subject to one condition. That is that no banners, posters or any other form of extraneous displays or structures should be allowed in Dalada Veediya once the project is completed.

Mr. Wickremasinghe has made a proposal to the KMC to agree to the request of the prospective funders.

War Heroes of Dharmaraja

The Dharmaraja College Past Cadets Union has erected a mausoleum to commemorate the school's war heroes who have made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the country during the past 120 year history of the school. It was ceremonially declared opened earlier this month at the school campus in Lake View. Major (Rtd) W.M. Weerasuriya (Sri Lanka Engineers), who was the first Rajan to be commissioned into the Sri Lanka Army from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst U.K. was the chief guest.

The earliest Rajan on record to give his life for his country was World War II British Royal Air Force Flt. Lt. A. F. Kularathna, the son of the Dharmaraja principal P. de S Kularathna who in 1942 went "Missing in Action" after a daring bombing raid to Germany. His exploits in the European theatre were legendary. Flt. Lt. Kularatna was the sergeant of the Dharmaraja cadet platoon that won the coveted De Soyza Cup the first time it was offered in 1935. He was also a fine cricketer for the school.

Douggie Fernando, also a cricketer, who was in the Royal Ceylon Air Force lost his life in the 1971 Insurgency. Douggie opened batting for Dharmaraja in 1957 and 1958 and had a couple of centuries to his credit.

These two were followed by a cavalcade of gallant officers and men led by the likes of Major Gen. Nalin Angammana, DIG Upul Senavirathne (STF), Air Commodore M.V.K.H Wijekoon and Police Inspector Rohan Attudawe, who lost their lives in the war over the last thirty years. Many of them were known for their bravery in the battle field. Lt. Gunasinghe who daringly led a posse of men in defense of the Palalai Camp died in battle. Major G H M Sooriyabandara who was Regimental Sergeant Major as a senior cadet in 1962-63 also lost his life serving in the army.

This monument is fittingly located under the shade of the mango tree in the front garden of the Principal's Bungalow where some of the greatest principals that Dharmaraja ever had incuding K.F. Billimoria, P. de S. Kularatna, L. H. Mettananda, S. A, Wijetilaka, Col. E. A. Perusinghe, Col. S.L B. Amaranayake and A.P. Gunaratne resided. The distinguished guests who have stayed in the bungalow over the years include the English novelist D.H. Lawrence, founder of the Boy Scouts Movement Lord Baden Powell, India's national liberator Mahatma Gandhi and the Nobel Prize winning Indian poet Rabindranath Targore.

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Don't Bring Kandy Garbage to Us Say Harispattuwa Residents!

Kandy residents may soon see their garbage piling up as the KMC stops collecting it because it has no place to dump it. This may soon become a reality if the Harispattuwa Pradesheeya Sabha (PS) goes to court and gets an order to stop the KMC from dumping the solid waste that it collects from the municipal area at the landfill in Gohagoda. A resolution to go to courts that Harispattuwa PS member Sanjeewa Kurunduwatta (PA) proposed at its recent monthly meeting was unanimously adopted with both government and opposition members voting for it.

The Gohagoda land which is 32 acres in extent has served as the Kandy solid waste disposal ground since 1977 when the KMC stopped using its Nittawela facility. KMC got the Gohagoda land during the colonial administration. It originally belonged to the Kondadeniya Temple.

Residents of Gohagoda, Polwatta, Wegiriya and Kondadeniya as well as communities in Katugastota and Wattarantenna that live in close proximity to the Gohagoda landfill have long complained about the insanitary conditions that the facility creates and the inconvenience that it causes to them. Last year in late November a group of local politicians led a demonstration to the Kandy mayor L B Aluvihare's office to hand over a petition that demanded the KMC to take remedial measures. Apart from the unbearable stench in the area, the petition also noted that the Gohagoda facility polluted the Mahaweli River at a point upstream of the point of water intake for the new Kandy water supply scheme.

Harispattuwa PS member Sanjeewa Kurunduwatta (PA) who presented the resolution to go to courts claims that the Kandy mayor who promised to take action to resolve the problems has failed to do so. Mayor Aluvihare admits that a serious problem exists. But he says that the KMC does not have the funds to use modern solid waste disposal technology. He says that the KMC is in discussion with a tile manufacturer to explore the possibility of using the solid waste as a fuel for tile manufacturing.

Chief Minister Ekanayake and Mayor Aluvihare Discuss Kandy Problems

The Chief Minister of the Central Provincial Council and the Kandy Mayor L B Aluvihare recently met to discuss the problems that the Kandy Municipal Council (KMC) was facing. All the members of the KMC were also present.

Mayor Aluvihare told The Kandy News that he was hopeful that the discussion would help find solutions to some of the urgent problems that the Council was currently facing. The subjects discussed included solid waste disposal, the cut in the salary subsidy that the central government provides the KMC, the freeze on recruitment of workers to the KMC and the non-payment of rates and water bills by state agencies and government departments.

The Chief Minister promised the KMC that the Provincial Council would improve the maintenance of the roads and central bus stands in Kandy that are under the control of the latter.
The two parties have agreed to meet regularly to review progress on work and issues of common concern.