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De Soysa Building residents fear eviction 

02 Jul 2021

By Kris Thomas   Tenants of the partially damaged British colonial era edifice, the De Soysa Building in Slave Island, raised concerns over their possible eviction and further damage being caused to the building yesterday (1), as the construction of the Justice Akbar Mawatha Flyover commenced. This renewed concern on the part of the tenants follows the Urban Development Authority’s (UDA’s) interest in demolishing the 150-years-old British colonial era De Soysa Building, after parts of it collapsed last month. The construction of the Justice Akbar Mawatha Overpass commenced on 7 June after it received the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers in May. The overpass, costing Rs. 5.2 billion, has been undertaken by Maga Engineering and is expected to be completed in a year. The preliminary work carried out by Maga Engineering was observed on Justice Akbar Mawatha. Parts of Justice Akbar Mawatha, where the De Soysa Building is currently located, were drilled into earlier this week as part of a prelude to the construction to come, which the residents claimed would cause further damages to the building. The De Soysa Building, under the care of the UDA, has been marked for demolition and its tenants for eviction, despite its historical and cultural value. On 1 July, it was revealed by The Morning that the UDA has shown interest in demolishing the building despite the directives from Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who has called for the preservation and conservation of the building, as per the request of the Archaeology Department. The Archaeology Department is currently in the process of gazetting the building as an ancient monument under the Antiquities Ordinance, No. 9 of 1940 as amended. However, due to an error in the gazette draft, the process has been delayed indefinitely. Despite multiple attempts by The Morning to query regarding possible further damage to the building and whether the residents, some of whose residences and shops may be in the way of the constriction of the flyover, would be evicted, UDA Director General Prasad Ranaweera was not available for immediate comment.  


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