God bless Lankan heritage!

The iconic De Soysa building at Slave Island was literally murdered in broad daylight. The building wasn’t preserved and was left to be looted by thieves. One fine day, many thought part of the building collapsed but in reality it was backhoed. Today, if anybody goes towards Slave

Island, they will see that the landscape has changed. Heritage buildings are slowly being refurbished or torn down to make space for more ‘profitable’ investments. An important part of what gives a city character and a sense of community is its history. One way of acknowledging this history is by preserving historic buildings and structures. But today, what is left of Sri Lanka is being demolished. A country that once boasted about its heritage has chosen to ignore it, perhaps completely. A few days ago, a photo of a backhoe at the historic Jetavanarama Stupa went viral on social media. It has been reported that a project is underway to construct a car park at this site! One of the comments on social media that caught attention of the public is that where the commentator says that it is possibly the place where Arahat Mahinda was cremated. So excavating such a place is certainly a joke. Earlier it was the Parakrama Samudra and now this. It is questionable as to how one could give the go-ahead for such projects without proper analyzing and forward thinking. What is funny is that when people protest against these moves, they are being labeled as traitors. So the public is left to stay put and watch. Many still believe that this government is a blessing and many are expecting miracles to happen. Miracles, certainly will happen at this rate!