Another Piece Of Insurance From A Familiar Buyer!
Emil van der Poorten
I just had, from a friend who has a sterling record in the matter of ecological concern, an email informing me of the plans that are afoot to open a major highway into Kandy city through an irreplaceable little piece of truly beautiful forest – Udawattakelle Sanctuary.
There aren’t too many urban settings that could boast of such as this wonderful little forest with its little lake surrounded by giants of the jungle.
As someone who spent his entire youth in a school immediately adjacent to this sylvan setting, I have always had wonderful memories of it even though I was not among those who ran along its footpaths during Trinity College’s annual cross-country competition!
Udawattakelle Sanctuary – Photo courtesy Daily FT
Udawattakelle has been reduced in size over the years by urban encroachment of one description or another, but what is proposed will certainly constitute the final tolling of that particular bell.
I understand that some years ago, there was a similar initiative launched and a man I consider one of the privileges of life to have called a friend, that great pillar of Kandy society, Dr. Nihal Karunaratne, spearheaded the opposition to that bit of potential desecration and, with the aid of the President of Sri Lanka at the time, J. R. Jayewardene, spiked the guns of those promising the destruction of this last little bit of forest within the Kandy Municipality.
The recent initiative has been advertised as having the avid support of Minister Lakshman Kiriellawho has already given ample evidence of his readiness to buy insurance from those who his government claimed to have pledged to prosecute and castigate: those who were well on their way to destroying the fabric, both moral and financial, of this country.
