Sri Lanka authority develops and maintains two leisure parks in Colombo

Both parks have received little proper maintenance over the years, causing pollution in water bodies  

Sri Lanka’s Urban Development Authority (UDA) has commenced the development and maintenance of two leisure parks in the suburbs of Colombo, said The Sunday Morning.  

Diyatha Uyana is located in Battaramulla and the Urban Wetland Park located in Nawala are scheduled to be regularly maintained and renovated, according to the UDA. 

Prasad Manju, media spokesperson of UDA, stated that the authority received such instructions from Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. 

He mentioned that over the years, both parks have received minimal proper maintenance, causing pollution of the water bodies and canals in the surrounding areas.  

As a result of new renovation and maintenance of these sites, neglect will be reversed and the parks will attract both locals and international tourists.  

Diyatha Uyana and its adjoining features will receive streamlined maintenance services, making it more presentable to the public. As the park attracts large groups of people daily, the site calls for regular maintenance.  

“We initially developed the Diyawanna Oya in 2010 to withstand the high-water capacity when flooding and then developed it further into an urban wetland park, enhancing the urban aesthetics of the city and atmospheric humidity. The park has since been a popular attraction amongst the locals, which also meant that there was a greater need for maintenance,” he said. 

Renovation and maintenance will also be extended to the Diyatha Station Train restaurant.  

“The park has not been maintained for a long time, and the same goes for the restaurant. This led to it attracting less of a crowd. But with the UDA’s new maintenance programme, we are seeing some improvement, and we see both the park and the restaurant attracting more crowds,” said Manju. 

On the other hand, the renovation and the maintenance of the Urban Wetland Park in Nawala started after listening to the public.  

Over the last four-and-a-half years, the park had been ignored, leading to the pollution of the Heen Canal. 

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“The maintenance of the park was not done regularly, and the public reached out to the UDA about garbage being accumulated in the Heen Canal. Following this, we initiated a clean-up of the canal, and now it is returning to its natural state,” he said. 

Covering a total of 16 acres and costing the UDA SLR82 million (USD405,924), the park consists of a walking lane, a children’s playground, and a gym.