A small child who was playing outside the Randiya Ulpatha housing complex in Henamulla, Madampitiya, belonging to the Urban Development Authority, died in an accident this morning. The deceased is a seven-year-old child named Motir Sandaruwan, who was a resident of the housing complex.
The child died when a piece of cement mortar that collapsed from an external wall of the apartment complex located in the Madampitiya area of Modara, Colombo fell on his head.
Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Ratnayake also apologized to the family members of the child in Parliament today regarding the incident.
Commenting on the incident, the Minister said that the construction work on this building belonging to the Randiya Ulpatha housing complex began in 2014.
He further stated that there are many problems in the housing projects constructed under the Urban Revitalization Program. He said that people addicted to drugs are removing parts of elevators and light bulbs, and that after he assumed the ministerial position, Rs. 325 million has been allocated for the renovation of essential urban housing buildings. The Minister, who said that the distribution of resources of the Urban Development Authority should be completely changed, said that the Urban Development Authority does not have a culture of working with people.
He said that he had informed the officials of the Urban Development Authority on several occasions that there was a risk of the cement mortar layers on the outer wall of the Randiya Ulpatha apartment complex collapsing, and the neighbors have said that this accident has occurred due to the lack of necessary action in this regard. The Modara Police are conducting further investigations into the incident.