The name of a yahapalanaya purohita who doubles as a government contractor had come up at the Diyawanna council lobby the other day.

A construction firm this purohita has floated is already busy carrying out work on several government projects, they say. 

They say that this purohita hailing from the country’s backwoods now armed much political clout knows that he can aim high and should no longer bother about minor projects. And he has his eye on a series of mega projects in the pipeline which are to be funded by massive loans pledged by leading international banks.

The purohita was reasonably well off even during the previous regime despite his political ties to a rival party. In fact, a defence authority of the previous regime had awarded a number of road construction and pavement tiling contracts to him. This purohita’s manipulations in the construction industry have placed at least three major firms in great difficulties, they say.