Urban Development and Housing Minister Prasanna Ranatunga recently instructed the Urban Development Authority to hand over Viharamaha Devi Park to the Colombo Municipal Council.
Former President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, during his tenure as Secretary of the Ministry of Defense and Urban Development, worked to modernize this park to suit the modern world.
Accordingly, the Viharamaha Devi Garden, which was under the control of the Colombo Municipal Council until then, was taken over by the Urban Development Authority for renovation work in 2011. Accordingly, the Viharamaha Devi Park was renovated and opened in 2013 under the Colombo Metropolitan Area City Development Project implemented by the Urban Development Authority with the assistance of the World Bank.
Viharamaha Devi Park area is close to 50 acres. It is said that this hundred acres of land belonging to the Colombo Kurunduwatta area was acquired by the Colombo Municipal Council from the then Colonial Secretary in 1866, and later it was used as a park to bring relaxation and enjoyment to the city dwellers.
Colombo Dharmapala Mawatha, Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha, Albert Chandravankaya, Dr. C. W. W. This garden, located on the border of Kannangara Mawatha etc., was known as ‘Circular Garden’ at that time. It seems that these lands were called Menamin because they were acquired by the Colombo Municipal Council from Mayor Circulus. Some time later, in 1887, the park was named Victoria Park in honor of Queen Victoria’s “Golden Jubilee”.