MPs OK Rs. 100 Million for new lifts; Schools struggle without building

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Sri Lankan parliamentarians recently voted themselves a significant benefit. They voted within days of a technical difficulty with the parliamentary elevator, a sum of Rs 100 Million for a new set of elevators. Significant public outrage has risen over the parliament elevator order considering the desperate state of rural life in Sri Lanka. Many sectors including health, education, and infrastructure require urgent remedying, but these matters are largely ignored despite being highlighted constantly through the media. In a backdrop where millions are to be spent on new lifts in parliament, there are schools across the country in dire need of restoration and repair. The lives of the students studying in such conditions are at constant risk as continuous appeals seem to have fallen on deaf ears. The Udumadura Sri Vidyapradeepa secondary school located in Walapane accommodating nearly 400 students at present is one such example of an unanswered plea. The district engineering department has already recommended that the 60-year-old dilapidated school building be immediately demolished. Although the principals and the students had requested authorities for a new school building to be constructed, the matter has been treated with a blind eye. This is the fate of just one of the many rural schools in the country. These children do not seek luxuries, but only ask for one thing - that is their right to protection and education. Shouldn't these rights be protected as a topmost priority?