More than 50 families living in the area of Vavikkarai Street and Kallady Street junction in Batticaloa have to deal with the difficulties of the lack of proper drainage facilities.
Due to the lack of proper drainage, during the rainy season Kallady’s residents have to cope with severe flooding, which affects not only their day-to-day life outdoors but also indoors. It is a hindrance to their daily activities and the negative consequences of the floods are immense.
Whilst contemplating a solution for this issue a group of young individuals in the area got an opportunity to attend a workshop on Right to Information conducted by Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) with the financial support from the USAID-through strengthening Democratic Governance and Accountability Project (SDGAP).This was conducted in September 2018.
With the RTI awareness received at the workshop the youth decided to send a RTI application to the Grama Niladhari and to the Municipal Council on the aforementioned issue.
According to this group, there has been no response from either of these parties so far and the stipulated time has now long expired. They intend to send an appeal or resubmit an application afresh as they wish to seek answers from the authorities on this issue somehow.
The youth mentioned that although the authorities remain silent on issues like these, thanks to the workshop they are now aware on what issues they can question the authorities. They wish to use the act collectively in the future as well.
This update was prepared by participants of the Information and Communication Training Workshop conducted by the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) through a grant funded by the United States Agency for International Development through the Strengthening Democratic Governance and Accountability Project Activity.
“The contents of this post are the sole responsibility of SLPI and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.”
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