Mayor blames officials
Dambulla Mayor Jaliya Opatha said yesterday the relocation of a Mosque situated in the Dambulla sacred area was not a communal clash but had happened because of the lethargy by the officials who neglected the Dambulla sacred area project for more than 30 years.
He told a special council meeting to resolve the Dambulla crisis that all concerned should understand this and the media should act responsibly when giving publicity to such sensitive matters. The members of the ruling party and the opposition were of the view that it was not a religious or a communal conflict and that all those concerned should put their heads together and find a just solution. The members said all communities in Dambulla lived in peace and harmony and that this matter should not be allowed to erupt into a major conflict.
Councillor Ven. Daniyagama Ananda Thera said the sacred area development project had been neglected for more than 30 years and repeated requests to successive governments had been ignored.
The Ven Thera said his only request was to prevent non-buddhist places of worship at the proposed sacred area. He offered to donate one month’s salary to the Mosque building fund for the Mosque to be relocated at another area. Several others including H.M. Rupasinghe (UPFA) Anura Bandara (UPFA), K.G. Wijeratne (UNP) and Sunil Weerasekara (UNP) also expressed their views
The members of the ruling party and the opposition were of the view that it was not a religious or a communal conflict