The Hon. S.M. Marikkar

¶ 01 Hon. Minister, in Kolonnawa 101 Watta, five houses were demolished by the UDA yesterday. Media reported the UDA said houses were offered but people did not move. That is false. There are 118 houses. Under the previous Government, during Hon. Sarath Weerasekera’s time, UDA offered compensation of Rs. 1 million to vacate by force; daily wage earners cannot pay Rs. 1 million. Later, in discussions I attended, they were asked to pay Rs. 500,000—still unaffordable. Among the demolished homes are a cancer patient’s house, a child with a chest defect, and a wheelchair user. Fifteen more are slated for demolition tomorrow. I accept the land is required by the UDA, but evicting the poorest onto the street is inhumane. My proposal: use remaining units in Kolonnawa’s Sahindra Sewana and other housing projects; with Board approval, if needed, collect Rs. 100,000 or so and allow the balance on instalments, and give them those units. Please instruct your Ministry and the UDA to resolve this humanely.