Kurunegala-Mirigama Highway Controversy – Aggrieved Residents Launch Protests

The first volume of the final Environmental Impact Assessment report was issued in May 2016. This report was prepared by the Center for Sustainability, Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura

A collective of residents from the Kurunegala area on November 26 (Sunday) gathered at the Royal Reception Hall, Teliyagonna, Kurunegala to protest against being affected by the construction of the Kurunegala-Meerigama Highway, and demanding compensation.

Families representing about six hundred people protested against damages done to their residences due to the serious irregularities that occurred during the construction work of the highway. At the protest site around 2000 signatures were collected from the families who have been inconvenienced, to be handed over to the United Nations authorities. After the signatures were placed on a protest letter, the crowd walked towards the entrance to the highway, demanding justice. Vehicular traffic heading towards the highway entrance was obstructed, and to deal with the protest, Superintendent of Police, P.B. Kasthuriarachchi of the Kurunegala Police Station handed over a signed letter to the agitators stating that necessary steps would be taken within three to four working days to arrange a series of meetings with the relevant authorities who are responsible for the irregularities that have occurred in connection with the construction of the Kurunegala-Mirigama Highway.

Segera (this protester didn’t wish to reveal her full name) is a mother of three children from Weherabanda, Kurunegala. She told the writer of this article that they faced lots of challenges during and after the construction of the Kurunegala-Mirigama Highway, which is referred to as the second phase of the Central Expressway. Expressing her views in a shaky voice, she revealed what she and her husband faced due to the construction of the said highway:

“At the beginning there were small cracks on the walls, but later my husband and I realised that the crackes were increasing. One day after prayers I was lying down on the floor. After a while small particles of stones were dropping. Suddenly my husband jumped up and asked me to run quickly. And the slab suddenly broke and collapsed. 
Sanjeewa Kulathilake, an organiser of the protest, who is a resident of the Kurungela area, shared his experiences with this writer: 

“When they started this project in 2017 there were awareness programmes everywhere. These took place with the participation of relevant Divisional Secretaries and engineers from the Road Development Authority (RDA). They gave a description to the relevant public on how our lands will be taken, but affirmed that they will provide compensation. They said that they will be adding a value for the next 10 years. They simply said that the people won’t get affected by this project. They also said that compensation would be granted even for crops such as coconuts in the lands. Somehow for agricultural lands they will be given Rs. 7500 per perch. The huge problem is that as much as 90% of the agricultural lands were lost due to the construction of the Highway. Representatives from Maga Engineering (Pvt) Ltd visited my home with the intention of giving me various kinds of offers since I was very vocal about this matter. Finally, the Magistrate Court of Kurunegala issued a statement saying that I was interrupting the constructions.” 

Kulathilake further said that the relevant authorities didn’t relocate the people who were really old and those who were suffering from non-communicable diseases.
The first volume of the final Environmental Impact Assessment report was issued in May 2016. This report was prepared by the Center for Sustainability, Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. In this report it clearly mentions that to address this issue, the RDA, through its PMU and in consultation with affected parties is preparing a comprehensive Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for both permanent and temporary relocation of families and institutions”.

Villagers affected by the construction work of the Expressway requested for information through a RTI. Officials serving at the RTI office - after hearing a request for more information made on behalf of 400 families - provided this information at a meeting held on November 2 at the BMICH.  A group of local residents and civil activists participated in the protest and threw their weight behind the aggrieved villagers. After 13 days, an appeal hearing was held at the Commission on the Right to Information (on November 15). Only two people from the Kurunegala area were allowed to enter the RTI Commission while about 40 residents from the area were denied entry to the BMICH premises.