Govt. to spend Rs. 100 mn on elevators for parliament

Colombo (News 1st): A decision has been taken to install new elevators in Parliamentary complex. The Deputy Speaker of Parliament delivering the speaker's statement in this regard noted that following the allegations made by MP Dinesh Gunawardena and Wimal Weerawansa in parliament where 12 MPs were trapped in the elevator after it malfunctioned they informed the responsible private company as soon as this incident took place and have received their report. He noted that according to the report, the elevator is 36 years old and when the weight limit exceeded, the microswitch had not activated, therefore, the electric bell had not worked and the elevator had moved a little and stopped halfway. The deputy speaker noted that according to the research they have done, the new elevators have been manufactured with modern technology and it has been recommended that these could be fixed in place of the old ones as soon as possible. He informed the house that he has already instructed the Parliament General Secretary to fix the new elevators to ensure everyone's safety. Parliament Sergeant-at-arms said that a decision has been reached to fix 10 new elevators incurring a cost of around Rs. 100 million. We do not question why these elevators are fixed using large sums of money. But the people wonder if there are parliamentarians who take such swift actions to resolve the issues faced by the citizens of this country. The public also questions as to why the interest shown by the authorities in parliament to fix an elevator when a staircase is available as an alternative, is not shown when providing solutions to the people of this country.

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