Street food stalls at Kimbulawala to be regulated: Bandula

• The public had complained that the environment around Kimbula Ela was being polluted by garbage and food left overs, empty bottles, paper and plastic plates and polythene bags being dumped haphazardly on the road side

By Sandun A Jayasekera

Cabinet spokesman, Mass Media, Transport and Highways Minister Bandula Gunawardena said the government or the Highways Ministry will not remove street food stalls at Kimbulawala near the Parliament but will streamline the trade with no inconvenience to road users people living in the area or motorists.  

In response to a journalist at a weekly news briefing, Minister Gunawardena said there were complaints from the public that the environment around Kimbulawala was being polluted by garbage and food left overs, empty bottles, paper and plastic plates and polythene bags being dumped haphazardly on the road side. The UDA also had received complaints from, passengers and drivers  

 “Following the complaints I instructed Road Development Authority (RDA) to look into the matter. But those who run the food stalls have told the officials that I had given them permission to run food stalls and therefore no one could dictate to them on how to run the food stalls. Then after, I instructed the RDA officials to issue them with a set of guidelines on how to carry out their business without contaminating the environment and becoming a nuisance to motorists and road users. Besides a trading place next to Parliament must be clean and tidy,” Minister Gunawardena stressed.