New elevated highway: Thousands of people to be relocated
The Government will have to acquire 750 lots of land and demolish around 118 shops, houses and places of self-employment when it starts the next phase of its project to build an elevated highway from the New Kelani Bridge to Rajagiriya with a link to Baseline Road.
The Environment Impact Assessment ( EIA) says that other than sections located within canals, the highway will cross mostly residential and commercial areas. These will have to be acquired. The areas affected are Meethotamulla, Dematagoda, Borella North, Wanathamulla, Welikada West and Kotuwegoda.
The number of affected families is 1,010 comprising 3,615 people. The EIA says most of these families live in huts or permanent structures which are rudimentary in nature. They will have to be relocated.
The families have been given licences by the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) or relevant local authority to make their dwellings. Land acquisition will leave 106 structures partially affected and 634 fully affected.
Meanwhile, the report also notes that the livelihoods of people who are working in the state and private sector will also be negatively affected if they are resettled in areas from where their workplaces are not easily reachable.Many are now engaged in several jobs on shift basis due to convenient access from the present location. They will be badly impacted if they are to be resettled in faraway locations. People carrying out business activities in their houses will lose their customer base and also will be removed from the community they currently live in.
The construction of the highway will also affect five temples, two Buddha statues and a Bo tree, one Christian shrine and seven kovils.
The proposed elevated highway from the New Kelani Bridge to Rajagiriya has two components. The main stretch from the bridge in Orugodawatta to Rajagiriya is 6.9 km long. The link to Baseline Road at Dematagoda is 1.2km long.
The main stretch will be constructed over pillars with on-and-off ramps connecting to existing roads at selected locations. The existing Sri Nigrodharama Mawatha towards the Kolonnawa oil terminals will be rehabilitated and upgraded to form the link road to Dematagoda.