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Minister decides against use of Piyangala quarry
Monday, 31 August 2009 - 1:55 PM SL Time
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Some government politicians of the Ampara district have objected to the controversial quarry at the site of the historic rock caves in the area with carvings belonging to the pre-historic era.
The Divisional Development Committee meeting of Uhana, Ampara chaired by Plan Implementation Minister P. Dayaratne last week had resolved to oppose the continuation of this quarry. The quarry is maintained to supply stones and metals for the construction work of the Oluvil harbour.
At this site, there are two caves with drawings belonging to the pre-historic period. Besides, there are forty other rock caves with stone scriptures of archaeological value.
JVP MP for the Ampara district Wasantha Piyatissa told the Daily Mirror yesterday that he too participated in this meeting. He said that the government member of the Eastern Provincial Council, Chandrasena Galappaththi, moved the proposal against this project and he seconded it with a detailed presentation of its implications on the archaeological value of the site. The JVP MP charged that a powerful government politician was behind this project.
Earlier, Mr. Piyatissa also took up this issue in Parliament and asked the government to abandon the quarry. At that time, Cultural Affairs Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane agreed to look into the matter after obtaining a report from the archaeological authorities.
When contacted by the Daily Mirror, the Minister, however, said he could not attend to it since he was busy with filing nominations for the Southern Provincial Council Election.
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MahaDev
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2487
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 1 Sep 2009 03:01:19 GMT Report for Abuse
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The JVP MP charged that a powerful government politician was behind this project.
This is the basic problem in this country.
People give power to criminals and thugs and they make money out of anything and everything.
There should be a background check before let anyone enter into politics!!
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Mucha-linda
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 4404
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 1 Sep 2009 06:04:20 GMT Report for Abuse
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MahaDev,
It seems you are campaigning for the wrong horse in this case. Your separatist Eelamist ilk would have been better off if the destruction of this historic site continued. In addition to the megalithic rock carvings, this site (and Rajagala on the opposite side of Piyangala) also bears some early historic Buddhist ruins belonged to the period when Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka.
If that is going to prove anything, it is none other than the existence of a well established pre-Christian Sinhala Buddhist civilization in the eastern plains of the island. I can certainly understand that the destruction of a single archaeological site is not going to make East your homeland since there are numerous other sites to attest otherwise. However, as you may know, every bit counts.
Cheers
Mucha. |
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