With few willing to play with a straight bat, there has been total confusion over the status of the Galle Cricket Stadium with one party saying “yes” the stadium building will have to come down and the other party saying “no” nothing will happen.
“As I said in Parliament, the Galle International Cricket Stadium would not be removed. However, the unauthorized pavilion will be removed and the Galle Stadium will be used for national and international matches,” Southern Development Minister, Sagala Ratnayaka tweeted on Friday (20) while promising another cricket stadium in Galle.
Speaking on the subject, Secretary General of Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO, Lal Ranaweera, said the issue surfaced at a sub committee meeting of the Galle Heritage Foundation where it was requested to remove the pavilion and two smaller pavilions on either side which are unauthorised constructions that lacked proper approval before its construction.
He however said the request was for gradual removal, not immediate demolition of these buildings in order to maintain the World Heritage status of the Galle Fort, which requires a 400 metre buffer zone from its ramparts (walls of the fort)”.
Ranaweera added the ground can be used to play cricket since there is no restriction on having an open playing field without surrounding buildings to obstruct the view of the Fort, first built by the Portuguese and then modified by the Dutch who captured the maritime regions before the entry of the British.
Former Secretary General, Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO, Dhammika Wijayasinghe confirmed that International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) recommendations do not request removal of the entire stadium, but the removal of what she called “old net building” which is currently in a dilapidated condition along with unauthorized constructions.
“Further, they (ICOMOS) requested not to build new buildings within the stadium premises. If there is to be any renovation within the premises, it has to be conducted in consultation with ICOMOS,” she said.
There recommendations listed in section 13 of the ICOMOS Advisory Mission of July 2015 on the Galle World Heritage site says Sri Lanka Cricket and the Galle Cricket Club should be requested to commit to a process and time frame for demolition of fences and buildings, although the removal of the pavilion is not mentioned in its recommendations.
Section 13 says “while present buildings will remain for the time being, when time comes to alter or renew present pavilions it should be done in close consultation with the World Heritage committee and its advisory bodies to ensure they do not intrude on the entrance to the Old Town affecting its outstanding universal value, the way that present buildings do.”