By Dasun Edirisinghe Courtesy Island

‘The total cost of the 32 km stretch is Rs. 145.9 billion according to the present estimate, but it was only Rs. 120 billion according to the estimate done by the previous government.’

The UPFA yesterday accused the UNP government of siphoning off nearly Rs. 50 billion from the Kadawatha–Mirigama stretch of the Central Expressway which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday.

Addressing the media at the Sri Lanka Freedom Party head office, former Minister Dilan Perera said that the total cost of the 32 km stretch was Rs. 145.9 billion according to the present estimate, but it was only Rs. 120 billion according to the estimate done by the previous government.

“We designed it with six lanes, but it has been reduced to four lanes now. According to our plan two thirds of it were to run on overhead bridges to avoid floods and protect properties of people, but the UNP project is designed to fill the land with sand,” he said adding that fuel prices also had gone down at present.

Former Ministers Dilan Perera, Bandula Gunawardena, former Provincial Minister Udaya Gammanpila and UPFA National List member Dr. Charitha Herath, at the media conference yesterday at the SLFP headquarters, displaying bottles of poison and offering them to UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and Uva Chief Minister Harin Fernando. Pic by  Kamal Bogoda

The former Badulla District MP said that according to the estimate of the previous government a kilometre would cost Rs. 3.6 billion, but according to the UNP estimate one kilometre would cost Rs. 4.5 billion to construct, while they highly criticized the expressway projects of the previous government which were built at a cost of Rs. 2.5 billion per kilometre.

Perera said that with all those underhand things they should finish it at a cost below Rs. 100 billion.

He said that the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa government inaugurated the project as Northern Expressway, but the UNP government re-inaugurated it on Monday after changing the name as Central Expressway.

“This government’s ‘highway robbery’ is only second to the Central Bank bond scam,” Perera said demanding JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake to express their stance on the preposterous costs involved.

Perera said the subject minister Kabir Hashim presented a Cabinet paper for the highway project, but it had been rejected and thereafter Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe himself presented a cabinet paper which was passed.

He said the UNP had given the contract to the same contractor picked  by the previous government and obtained the loan from the same bank, the Exim Bank of China, but the government had heavily criticised the previous government for doing so.

Former Minister Perera said Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera had asked those who robbed public funds to swallow poison. He displayed four bottles of poison which he said would be sent for the consumption of the UNP leaders.

“We offer Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Uva Chief Minister Harin Fernando and Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran poison,” Perera said.

Former Minister Bandula Gunawardena and former Provincial Minister Udaya Gammanpila also addressed the media conference.