It has been revealed that some people are selling tickets to watch the Kandy Esala Perahera for between Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 65,000. Kandy Mayor Chandrasiri Wijenayake said that a seat for the final Randoli Perahera could rise to Rs. 100,000 if a program is not implemented to regulate the price of seats during the perahera season.
The Mayor revealed this at a special meeting held at the Central Provincial Governor’s Office on the promotion of Kandy city tourism.
“The Kandy Queen Hotel sells only a portion of the perahera viewing seats in the corridor. That is for Rs. 12,000, 15,000 and 18,000. We sell these online. When we started selling tickets online, some people bought 100 or more tickets. We have not restricted these purchases. We cannot do that. Then, these people sell these tickets at very high prices during the perahera season. There is no price decision regarding the sale of these tickets. There is no price control. There is no regulation.