Atamastandhi Pallegama Hemarathana Thero accused the Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media, Dr. Bandula Gunawardena, that if he cannot provide security for the devotees who come by train to worship the historic Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, why is he holding a government ministry if he cannot provide security to go from the railway station to the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi? He said that for those who come by train to pay homage to Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, even though they have been requesting for a long time to provide a direct bus to go to Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, a bus has not been deployed and because of this the passengers coming by train have to pay a lot of money for tricycles. Sri Lanka Latest News
The Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media, Dr. Bandula Gunawardena, was subject to the following accusations yesterday (14th) when he met with Atamasthanadipa Pallegama Hemarathana Thero and received his blessings.
He also said:
The largest number of devotees come by train to pay obeisance to the historic Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi. Since then, no direct bus has been used to travel to Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi. No matter how many requests are made for a long time, Langama buses are not allowed to run. As soon as a train arrives at the station, three-wheelers queue up and encroach there. Even though some devotees do not want to ride the tricycles, they are forcibly loaded on the tricycles.
After that, the three-wheeler will take them to Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi and charge seven hundred and fifty to thousand rupees. These people are threatening not only by the police but also the employees close to the station masters. Even though they tried to run the CTB buses twice, there were cases where they got injured due to the attacks on them. Those who come explain that because of this, the devotees are greatly prejudiced. Political leaders have also been informed about this. But I see that all these people are afraid of these gangsters. I would like to ask Minister Bandula that if the government cannot provide security to those who come to worship the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi by train, if they cannot arrange additional buses or provide facilities for them, then why is there a ministry?
Former North Central Chief Minister Ranjith Samarakoon, senior officials of the Railway Department, and senior officials of the province participated in this event and he asked the Minister and everyone else to ask the President to deploy the army and prepare a plan to protect the devotees as soon as possible.
The Minister, Dr. Bandula Gunawardena promised in the presence of Atamasthanadi Thero that he would somehow provide two buses to establish a combined train and CTB bus service for the devotees who come to Anuradhapura on every Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as on Poya days.
