How Many Deaths Will It Take For A Pradeshiya Sabhawa To Repair A Derelict Road?
By Emil van der Poorten -
Emil van der Poorten
Dear Honorable Members:-November 24, 2012
I have on several previous occasions, in the newspaper columns which I contribute to The Sunday Leader and other publications, made passing reference to incidents of political victimization which could have had serious repercussion on me and my spouse and which appear to be continuing unabated.
The brother of the Senior Cabinet Minister who happens to be our Member of Parliament, a retired army officer, who serves as his “aiyya’s”“Point man” in this area and appears to have a “hands-on” relationship with men and matters in this constituency, will, I am sure, vouch for the fact that I have, times without number, brought the very serious situation that prevails in our neighbourhood in the matter of road access, to his attention. However, it seems that all of our complaints and entreaties have been of no avail and he has not been able to exert any influence on the local Pradeshiya Sabhawa to have anything done about a very grave situation. I am, therefore, reduced to doing something I am very loath to do: make a public appeal to all those who control our lives in this neck of the woods, about a situation that is well on its way to achieving life or death importance. It seems that we have reached this point simply because a Pradeshiya Sabhawa, controlled by supporters and members of the governing party, has taken upon itself the chore of making an example of someone whom they view as a “political enemy.”
Very recently, the road I refer to was closed to all vehicular traffic for a period of five days and it was only my refusing to be fobbed off with an assortment of excuses and lies by the Pradeshiya Sabhawa and its Chairman that prevented it from being closed for even longer! In case there is any doubt about the importance of this public thoroughfare, it is the SOLE means of access and egress for several hundred people living in this area, men, women and children who do not have ready access to helicopter travel!
