In the wake of historical buildings of the Kandy and Nuwara Eliya post offices being taken over by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) to be converted into hotels, numerous individuals and civil society organisations in the Nuwara Eliya District staged a protest yesterday (9) demanding a reversal of the Government’s decision.

The protest was staged in front of the Nuwara Eliya post office building against the Government’s decision to hand over the particular building to an Indian company to be converted to a tourist hotel. A large number of representatives of the postal and telecommunications trade unions and postal workers representing all the main political parties operating throughout Sri Lanka, members of other public services, representatives of voluntary organisations, the entire business community of Nuwara Eliya, and the Nuwara Eliya legal bar participated in the protest.

Meanwhile, the postal workers’ trade unions yesterday said that they would call off their 48-hour token strike from midnight yesterday. The strike was launched from midnight on Tuesday (7), in protest of the Government’s attempts to sell the resources belonging to the Department of Posts.

Postmaster General S.R.W.M.R.P. Sathkumara, issuing a statement, has stated that no post office owned by the department will be closed and that the President’s Secretary has been informed of the agreement to hand over the Nuwara Eliya post office building to the UDA in order to allow for a more effective investment opportunity as per the Government’s policy.

Speaking to the media in this regard, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister of Mass Media Dr. Bandula Gunawardana has assured that the UDA would provide a suitable building in its place to operate the said post office, the department statement said.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, meanwhile, issued an extraordinary gazette notification on Wednesday (8) evening, declaring the postal service as an essential public service.