Muslims blame Hakeem for waterless Eid
In the Greater Colombo area, most Muslims, like their brethren all over Sri Lanka, ended their 29th day of fast in the Holy month of Ramadan last Tuesday. However, they were an unlucky lot.
They broke fast at dusk. Within an hour they heard the good news that the next day, Wednesday, would be Eid ul Fitr, an important religious event observed worldwide. It marks the culmination of the holy month of Ramadan. The moon had been sighted in the east coast obviating the need for fasting for a 30th day.
They also heard the bad news that in some areas there would be prolonged water cuts. The taps ran dry by Tuesday evening. The reason – a main pipeline feeding a distribution tower in Ratmalana had burst.
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader, Rauff Hakeem, under whose purview the National Water Supply and Drainage Board operates, was on state radio expressing regret over the unexpected breakdown. He said by dawn there would
AGampaha District politico, now indicted for bribery, caused some confusion to banking authorities in an island nation.
He had a secret account, one that was without local authorisation. At first, the bank had assumed that his be water on the taps since additional work teams had been deployed.
Some who waited till dawn to cook their festival breakfast and lunch found there was no water. Crowds formed outside supermarkets and shops and bottled water was soon sold out.
Thus, Eid was a troublesome day for many who had to go without a bath or were unable to cook a meal. They queued outside catering outlets only to be told that biriyani was cooked only after orders were received, and stocks had run out.
As promised, the water did come on taps. However, that was on Wednesday night. Though the water cut was unexpected, for most households Mr. Hakeem was not a favourite name last Wednesday among his community. They argued that they should have been given some time to store water whilst others said the minister in charge, who also heads the SLMC, did not keep to his promise.