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Indo-Lanka bridge proposal shelved

The proposed bridge between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu is likely to be shelved as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha Jeyaram has expressed strong opposition, Ports Ministry officials said.

Jayalalitha according to Ministry officials has raised objections citing LTTE infiltration into Tamil Nadu.

Officials also said it is unlikely that the Sri Lankan government would go ahead with elaborate plans to construct the proposed bridge as there is opposition from Tamil Nadu.

However they said the ferry service would commence once the Indian junior minister arrives in Sri Lanka shortly to sign the MOU.

Tranquility disturbed?

By Risidra Mendis 

A stone's throw away from the Parliamentary Complex on Parliament Road one finds the Sri Jayawardenapura Rajamalwatte Vipassana Meditation Center (RVMC).

Once inside the gates, it is as if entering a different world. The sound of silence and serene tranquility envelops the entrant. Excepting the occasional cry of a crow and the sounds of the Diyawanna Oya waters, absolute silence reigns.

Flowers, bird chirpings and soft breezes offer a magical welcome. Beyond this lies the coppice. One has to travel a few meters to see the first signs of the meditation centre.

The afternoon meal is just over, and males and females clad in full white walk to a nearby tap to wash their hands. It is as if the serenity of the backdrop is reflected on the people.

But this serenity is being threatened now, with the gravel road leading to the Centre being the cause of the controversy.

Bare land

A wall separates the centre from this road. Next to the wall is a bare plot of land, the property of the Urban Development Authority (UDA).

But according to visitors to the Centre, plans are under way to sell this land to a private party. To facilitate the move, it is learned that the UDA has made a written request to the chief incumbent of the Center, Ven Aruppola Vipassi thero to grant permission to use the road as the main entrance to the bare land.

Ven Vipassi Thero said that the land was tipped to be sold to a private party to open a restaurant. "A restaurant next to a meditation center sounds tragic. It would serve liquor, meats and other items and obviously, such a project could be mooted by someone who does not understand the Buddhist ethos," observed the thero. Anyway, there was a separate entrance for the UDA land from the Parliament Road, he said.

"I wrote to Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe regarding this issue. The premier sent his Secretary Bradman Weerakoon to inspect the place," the thero said.

Ven Vipassi received a response from Weerakoon on May 9, 2002. It stated that under no circumstances should this road be opened to the public while alternative arrangements should be made to enter the UDA land.

It further stated that if this road were made the main entrance to the UDA land, the purpose of the centre would be defeated.

But despite the said letter, the Thero said Consumer Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake had made a surprise visit there in May.

"The Minister promised a separate road running behind the centre. When I explained that meditating people would be disturbed if the road is opened to the public, he promised a wall in front of the road," the Thero said.

If a wall is thus built, there is a likelihood of increased traffic on the other road. How could people meditate in peace? he queries.

Ven. Vipassi insists that legally, the road belongs to the centre " Others cannot decide on it."

To solve the problem, he has requested the UDA to offer the controversial piece of land to the Meditation Centre, and is yet to hear from the authorities. 

Director Lands, of the UDA, R M Ariyadasa said that the gravel road was the only legal route to enter the UDA land, but said a meeting with the chief incumbent would soon take place.

Commenting on the dispute, Minister Ravi Karunanayake disassociated himself from the issue and said the matter was entirely up to the UDA. "The priest is just trying to be difficult and is simply dragging politicians in " he charged.

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