Govt instructs to take down Ecocide mural ahead of protest

Following instructions issued by the President's Office, workers from the Colombo Municipal Council had begun taking down a massive mural which had been put up near the Nelum Pokuna, at the Vihara Maha Devi Park, a short while ago, which was depicting the ecocide which is presently taking place in Sri Lanka.

The mural which is 70x20 feet, was put together by children who are part of the youth wing of the wildlife nature protection society, who have organized a massive protest at 4 pm today against the ecocide taking place in Sri Lanka such as the killing of elephants, destruction of forests and elephant corridors etc.

The mural was put up last night after gaining approval from the CMC and police, organizers said.

However, eyewitnesses and organizers told Daily Mirror that following instructions by the President's Office, the CMC had begun taking down the mural to which the organizers had produced all the necessary approvals. "The excuse they used was that we did not have permission to use the scaffolding which had been used to put up the mural since it was very heavy," one of the organizers said.

However after media flocked to the scene and all the approvals were shown, the mural was put up again. Byt just a short while ago, confirmation was received that the mural was being taken down once again. (JAMILA HUSAIN) 

Pix by Waruna Wanniarachchi