Riprap and riff-raff

Saturday 25th September, 2021

Sri Lankans, troubled by lockdown blues and thirsting for entertainment, must be thrilled to watch, on television, some government politicians, engaged in turf wars, wash dirty linen—loads and loads of it—in public. An SLPP politician from Polonnaruwa has got down and dirty with his bete noire from the same district.

State Minister Roshan Ranasinghe has accused SLPP MP and former President Maithripala Sirisena of trying to sabotage a government plan to build a walking path on the riprap or ralapanawa of the Parakrama Samudraya, Polonnaruwa. An ardent supporter of the project, he has gone ballistic on several occasions during the past few days, and torn into Sirisena and his family. The latest allegation he has levelled against the Sirisenas is that they have encroached on the outermost boundary or the thavulla of the Parakrama Samudraya although the former President is now campaigning against the walking track project on the grounds that it will affect the antiquities in the area.

Even those who may not see eye to eye with State Minister Ranasinghe on the walking track project will agree that something must be done about the many illegal constructions in the Parakrama Samudraya reservation; they include a hotel owned by Sirisena’s younger brother, Dudley. No action has been taken against the wealthy and politically influential encroachers all these years. If only Ranasinghe had taken up this issue before falling out with the Sirisena family.

Ranasinghe is hitting the Sirisenas where it hurts most; one may say, with apologies to the Bard, hell hath no fury like a politician whose interests are threatened. He is on a campaign against the rice millers who are hoarding paddy, manipulating the market and making huge profits at the expense of farmers and consumers. The Sirisena family and its relatives own most of the large-scale rice mills in the country. But Ranasinghe is likely to abandon his campaign against illegal constructions on the tank reservation and the Millers’ Mafia if the former President extends his support for the jogging track, or the government leaders intervene to reconcile the warring parties. There’s the rub.

The thavulla of the Parakarama Samudraya must be resurveyed urgently and all unauthorised buildings thereon pulled down immediately without compensation. The Sirisenas who claim to be so concerned about the tanks in Polonnaruwa and antiquities in the area will not be in a position to protest. After all, this is exactly what the Rajapaksas were planning to do after Sirisena’s defection from their government, in late 2014, to run for President. The then Opposition claimed that the Rajapaksas had the Parakarama Samudraya filled to its full capacity, and part of Sirisenas’ hotel on its thavulla inundated. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s defeat in the 2015 presidential race saved the day for the Sirisenas! Otherwise, the Millers’ Mafia would have been crushed and the hotel demolished. Now the Rajapaksas and the Sirisenas have closed ranks for expediency, and Ranasinghe is fighting a losing battle.

The need for protecting the Parakrama Samudraya against encroachments has been felt for a long time, but successive governments have ignored it for political reasons. (Sri Lankan politicians will not hesitate even to sell the tanks built by kings to a foreign company if the right prices are offered.) Those who are genuinely concerned about the safety of the Parakrama Samudraya, which is part of the country’s heritage, must campaign hard for preventing its bund from being damaged and having its thavulla fully restored.

Buddhist monks may be divided on the walking path project, but there is no reason why they cannot unite to have the Parakrama Samudraya thavulla saved if they really love the country and its heritage. It is hoped that they will act independently to ensure the safety of the tank’s thavulla and riprap without siding with the political riff-raff at war.