Kurunegala Mayor urged to resign over King's assembly hall demolition

COLOMBO (News1st): Anger has mounted against the Kurunegala Mayor for defending the demolition of a king's assembly hall, with some entities demanding his resignation. A section of the assembly hall of King Bhuvanaikabahu II in Kurunegala had been demolished this week, sparking outrage after the mayor in the area defended the move. "If the mayor or anyone else had done this, shouldn't they resign to make this a civilized country?," Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, the general secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena movement said. He raised concerns over the delay in enforcing the law against those involved in bulldozing the ancient construction on Wednesday. "Doesn't the law in this country apply to those in power?," the Thero queried. He stressed that the building must be reconstructed and gazetted as an archaeological monument using the money of those involved in this incident. Police said that it has received a complaint filed by the director general of the department of archaeology over the demolition. "The IGP has issued an order to the SSP of Kurunegala to carry out a broad investigation and present a report with recommendations within a week," Jaliya Senaratne, the police spokesman said. Kurunegala Mayor Thushara Sanjeewa on Friday said the demolished building was a hotel named "Buwaneka" constructed in 1993 and did not belong to King Bhuvanaikabahu II. However, state authorities have identified the construction to be the assembly hall of the king who established a kingdom in Kurunegala in the 13th century.