Stop this commercialisation of peaceful residential areas

The residential areas of Thalawatugoda and Pita-Kotte used to be quiet and peaceful. Residents had a beautiful, trouble-free haven to live in, and most were hard working professionals helping the economy and giving jobs to hundreds of people, owning and running estates, factories, businesses and most importantly, paying taxes to the Government.

But now, commercial activity is creeping into residential areas, and restaurants, buildings conducting tuition classes, mobile vendors, etc., are establishing their businesses right in the middle of these quiet areas, sometimes right on the boundaries of houses. How disgusting! These activities damage the peace of the neighbourhood and destroy the privacy of home life.

Is it not time to prevent people engaging in these types of activities in residential areas? Activities of this nature should be located away from the boundaries of residential areas so that the people living in these will not be inconvenienced.

These buildings, etc., appearing out of nowhere next to homes, and the vehicles parked on either side of main roads, down the lanes and in front of homes, even on private lanes, cause much nuisance and irritability on a daily basis. Is this development? Is it good for our health? Is it correct to allow these activities to expand with complete disregard for home owners in the vicinity? The authorities responsible must do something about this growing nuisance.

We need concerned people at the Urban Development Authority, local authorities and municipalities to facilitate peaceful living areas.

Why is it that the authorities are not checking and taking steps to maintain residential areas without allowing them to become commercialised? Stern action must also be taken against people who go about in posh cars and throw their garbage bags on the roadside or put them into the drains on the roads, and who do not keep their premises or gardens clean which make them a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Our attitude as Sri Lankans must definitely change and the media have to seriously assist in this important task to educate the public, to make Sri Lanka a paradise in every sense of the word.