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Kaluaggala–Labugama road development project begins

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Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana said that the area where the Labugama and Kalatuwawa reservoirs are located has been transformed into Sri Lanka’s national heritage and resources.

“Due to the natural location in this area and proper management of natural resources, it has been possible to provide the Colombo area with drinking water through these reservoirs.

Minister Dr. Gunawardhana said that attention was focused for a long time on the development of the road network in the area.

“We thought that Seethawakapura could be a tourist area by combining all the factors including the hospitality of the people and the attractiveness and beauty of the area,” he said.

The Minister was speaking at the inauguration the Kaluaggala–Labugama road development project recently.

This road development project was launched on a concept of Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana, leading to areas including the Labugama and Kalatuwawa reservoirs. This stretch of road was in a dilapidated state since it had not been renovated for a very long time.

The Minister paid attention to requests received from residents regarding this situation and instructed officials to take necessary steps to carry out these renovation works as soon as possible.

“The areas including Ella have been developed as a big tourist attraction due to the small tourism businesses that were launched. The attractiveness of the Ella area of the Colombo–Badulla railway line had a great influence on it. Based on that situation, we implemented tourist train concepts like Ella Odyssey, Dunhinda Odyssey and Calypso special trains to contribute to train travel.”

He said that there is a huge demand for those trains. Special attention is being paid to these even in the international media.

“In the same way, I am engaged in a great effort to convert the Kelani Valley railway line into an electric railway line. The Prime Minister also makes a great effort to find investors for this, even during his foreign visits,” he added. He added that a plan was prepared for this, but unfortunately it was stopped. Based on the current situation, a country like Sri Lanka is not capable of developing infrastructure without foreign investment or foreign loan assistance.

Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana inaugurates the Kaluaggala–Labugama road development project.

Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana inaugurates the Kaluaggala–Labugama road development project.

The Minister said that funds have been allocated for the development of roads that have not been developed for a long time from the money obtained as loans through the last Budget.

“Accordingly, for the first time in history, an amount of Rs. 200 billion was been allocated to Parliamentarians for road development activities this year. The Avissawella and Homagama constituencies have been identified as the least developed areas in the Colombo district in the past. Compared to other parts of the Colombo district, there is some lack of money spent on infrastructure in these areas,” he said.

“After pointing out this situation to the World Bank, we have taken the opportunity to develop 80 kilometres under the World Bank project in the Avissawella and Homagama area with the previously approved funds. After completing the necessary preliminary process, it will be possible to start the work on those projects in the next two months. That is the correct way of doing these things,” he said.

Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana added that the loans taken for all these activities will have to be paid by the future generations.

“Due to the non-payment of loans obtained so far, our country has stopped receiving foreign aid.

Following discussions held by the President and the Government with organisations including the International Monetary Fund and other creditor countries, the Government has reached an agreement regarding the work to be done in the upcoming period. It is mandatory to act in the future according to its conditions,” he added.

“Without that, no one will be able to run a government. In running a country, we have no existence without joining with the world. But unfortunately, some politicians based only on power have no understanding of this situation. As a result, a Bill called the Economic Transformation Bill has been submitted to Parliament. After the passing of that Act, a specific programme will be prepared for the people of Sri Lanka to pay off the existing debt in the upcoming period,” the Minister said.

Venerable Pugoda Dhammaloka Nayaka Thera, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Avissawella organiser, lawyer Ravindra Jayasinghe, former Chairman of the Seethawaka Pradeshiya Sabha, Jayantha Rohana, former member of the Provincial Council Mahesh Almeida, officials of the Road Development Authority and other public officials as well as local residents were present.

The post Kaluaggala–Labugama road development project begins appeared first on DailyNews.

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