CMC : Who’s to blame for the mess?
On a recent visit to the Colombo Municipal Council’s Town Hall premises, a few CMC officers and I were stopped at the entrance by the security guard as the National Flag was about to be hoisted by a few individuals including security guards. The time was already 8.40 a.m. The person who was getting ready to hoist it looked like a politician and I asked the person what the name of the MMC was. He smiled and told me that it was not an MMC but a driver attached to the CMC who is given the task of hoisting the flag if no one else was available and added that for this purpose he was given an extra 100 hours of overtime.
He showed me the newly laid drains just there which were filled with rain water and said that despite spending millions of rupees given to the CMC by the World Bank the drains were still blocked and no one was bothered.
I remember as a child the Town Hall lawn was so beautifully laid with light greenish thick grass but the new grass is of different hues of green and looks like any wild grass that is found everywhere. Interesting to know how much was paid to the contractor for the service. There were labourers trying to pick out the ‘ nidikumba plants’ which were planted with the grass.
Once inside the Town Hall I was directed to the counter by the receptionist in a skirt and blouse to make my payment of rates but the staff was nonchalantly talking among themselves oblivious of the crowd that was gathering to pay the rates. Some inside were having their breakfast huddled around tables. The place looked awfully dusty and poorly lit. Although the outer walls of Town Hall are painted yearly spending millions of rupees, inside there is hardly any work being done. There are no seating facilities for the customers and we had to wait until everyone was ready to work.
Then I found that I was in the wrong queue. Being a diabetic patient I needed to use the toilet. I was directed by a security guard to a smelly toilet near the Planning Department. I decided not to enter it. After I got back to my place in the queue the security guard told me that absolutely no maintenance work is done and that they had forgotten to repair the roof when the colour washing was started and now that also has stopped until the roof repairs are done.
Coming out of the Town Hall I noticed the destruction that is being done in the name of beautification around the Buddha statue completely destroying the serenity that we enjoyed all these years. I wonder who is behind this.
I can’t understand why the CMC cannot get the advice of some prominent Buddhist priests without deciding on their own as this has been a place enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. N. Bandara
Via email
I wholeheartedly endorse the view expressed by Mr.Bernard Fernando of Moratuwa in the Sunday Times of July 7, regarding safety at unprotected Railway crossings.
A concrete speed breaker on either side of the crossing is a useful alterna-
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