RTI gives a glimmer of hope to the villagers in need of good roads in remote Kandyan village

The village of Kahambiliyawa, in the Pahatha Hewaheta Divisional Secretariat in the Kandy District is an extremely remote one. The area is thick with undergrowth and is home to a lot of poisonous reptiles.

The farming community in the area finds it extremely difficult to carry their produce of paddy to get it ground at the nearest village Neelawela. The road that gives access to this village is in a very poor condition. The villagers cannot take a safe stroll through this path. Despite repeated requests to the authorities regarding the construction of this road, the authorities have failed to take measures to facilitate the needs of the people.

Having put up with the poor road conditions for many years, the farmers who have heard of the Right to Information (RTI) Act through the youth in their area decided to file request inquiring the reasons as to why there is a delay in the construction of roads in their village. The request was made in November 2018.

A few weeks later they have been informed that the necessary allocations of funds have not been made hence has caused the delay of development activities.

However, a few months later, raw materials like sand and stone had been brought to the area for the purposes of starting construction work.  Although the construction is yet to begin, the villagers are happy that filing an RTI actually urged the authorities to provide the necessary facilities they’ve needed for years.

The villagers are happy that unlike olden times the future generations can keep their heads high and question the public bodies and demand justice. The youth are intent on using RTI for other issues in the area 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.”