University of Colombo hostel at Muttiah Road in Colombo 2 seized by UDA

The Urban Development Authority (UDA) has seized a 2.5 acres’ land that holds the Muttiah Road hostel of the University of Colombo. On November 5, the Arts Faculty Teachers’ Association of the University of Colombo (AFTA- CU) wrote to the Prime Minister’s office in protest of the move.

UDA Director General Prasad Ranaweera told the Sunday Times the move to demolish and relocate the hostels had been decided on due to a number of reasons.

“The property is in ruins, there are grounds on either side of the buildings along with the Beira Lake on one side,” he said.

He also said the UDA was taking measures to maintain the natural open space in the area.

“There are high-rise buildings all around so we are in the process of securing the mentioned areas to maintain a green belt in the city,” he added.

According to the letter sent by the AFTA-CU, the University of Colombo does not have sufficient hostel facilities at the moment. Referring to the Government’s decisions to increase student intake the association noted that curtailing already limited resources would not make sense.

Decisions to acquire said property “not only deprives the needy students of a chance to better education but also endangers their safety amidst the pandemic which makes finding alternative housing nearly impossible,” the letter said.

The association also said they were surprised about the immediate seizure as no other hostel facility had been provided in its place.

The UDA Director General addressed these concerns as he noted that a new hostel premises were being constructed in Orugodawatte with new special facilities. The hostel would be built to the requirements the UDA had requested from university officials. Officials from the University of Colombo had not submitted their requirements as of yet and therefore plans were temporarily stalled.

He also said the current premises of the Muttiah Hostels would not be harmed or demolished until the new hostel in Orugodawatte was completely functional.

The Muttiah Road hostel currently houses 550 female students that include differently abled students, a majority of whom are studying at UOC’s Faculty of Arts. It is one of the eight permanent hostels of the university and it has the capacity to house a large number of students, close to the campus. The letter also mentioned that the hostel had recently been renovated by the university to provide better access to their differently abled students.