COLOMBO: Under the patronage of Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, the Colombo District Development Committee Meeting took place recently at the Colombo District Secretariat.
The minister disclosed that the government will allocate Rs. 1,296 million for 390 projects in the Colombo District which had been brought to a standstill due to lack of funds. These projects were supposed to have been completed last year (2014) but the previous government had not passed funds to see these through.
At the meeting, a number of public issues were highlighted amid a number of heated debates between some of the politicians and state sector officials who were present. Among the many issues that were emphasized as in need of proper guiding principles, was the issue of ‘sites that help in the breeding of dengue mosquitoes’, which was highlighted by a representative from an implementing agency under the Ministry of Health.
“We had come to find concrete instilled construction sites that are left behind laden with cracks and crevices that eventually get filled with water and then end up as perfect sites for filaria, elephantiasis and dengue causing mosquitoes. Construction agencies and sites need to take into account that more attention needs to be paid when it comes to helping to eliminate such menaces, one of the representatives said.
