Moratuwa Jagathpura Sport ground a colossal waste of funds
The pavilion constructed at a cost of Rs. 19 million at the Moratuwa Jagathpura Sport Ground under the Sukhitha Purawara Project has become a white elephant, as the other facilities necessary for playing have not been yet provided at the ground.
Youth can be seen playing football in this uneven ground where there are also pot holes of large size and equipped with makeshift goal-nets, while the newly constructed pavilion serves as a recreation venue for drug addicts.
These remarks were made by the Moratuwa Municipal Council JVP member Nishantha Ferdinando.
This pavilion was built under the Sukhitha Purawara Small Town Programme with the patronage of the Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Patali Champika Ranawaka at a request of Municipal Council Member Sajith Duminda Pieris.
The pavilion built to satisfy the political interests has not yet been opened due to the lack of other infrastructural facilities necessary for a sports ground and now it serves the drug users as a den for them. The MC member continued his remarks on the matter.
Providing more facilities for playing Volleyball, football, rugger, cricket would have been more useful for the area where more youths are on a trend towards enjoying drugs, instead of building a pavilion for the ground.
When we sought the views of Moratuwa MC member Sujith Duminda Silva about this matter, he said steps are being taken to provide facilities now lacking at the ground.
Under the programme to save youth from the use of drugs through sport, the pavilion was built as a stage of the improvements measures to provide sports facilities to the youth.
He admitted the misuse of the pavilion by drug addicts.
We inquired from the Urban Development Authority Deputy Director Mahinda Vithanachchi about the measures taken by them for the safety of pavilion, until its opening.
He said the contractor has not yet handed over the finished construction and till then the duty of safety rests with them.
This is not a ground of international or national level, hence all the facilities have not been planned for the ground in Jagathpura Moratuwa.
He also said there some standards for the ground construction work and that the Jagathpura ground is not of required dimensions to be provided with certain facilities.
When asked about the necessity of such a pavilion at an expense of Rs.19 million for this particular ground he sarcastically said a pavilion is quite different from an attic.
The Deputy Director stressed the
need for a good ground for the area for sports activities and also to hold social events when extreme climatic conditions prevail. He said this ground in Jagathpura will provide all these facilities once the construction work is completed.
The Moratuwa Jagathpura Sport Ground under the Sukhitha Purawara Project has become a white elephant, as the other facilities necessary for playing have not been yet provided at the ground