Kandy, a major tourist attraction in Sri Lanka, is at risk of losing its attractiveness due to outdated and damaged infrastructure and environmental pollution as well as unregulated construction that blocks the city’s unique mountain view, The Sunday Morning observed recently. 

At a glance, the City of Kandy, once known for its heritage and old-world charm, looks increasingly cluttered, disorganised, and dusty; some parts in fact look derelict. 

Many roads in Kandy are damaged, either partly or to an extent where travelling on them is problematic. Many buildings look dusty and poorly maintained. Several hotels in the city centre, especially those around the Kandy Lake, are in dilapidated conditions and in need of repair.

The city centre is burdened with high pedestrian concentration and traffic congestion. Walking around the city, one can see that the natural environment is deteriorating, while the degraded landscape and poorly-maintained historic buildings not only paint a poor picture of the once-majestic township, but also indicate an increased risk during natural disasters, which are becoming more prevalent due to development in disaster-prone areas.

The collective shortcomings in Kandy create a new setback for tourism, economic reactivation, and the generation of jobs. 

The Kandy town is situated 500-600 metres above sea level and features geographical differences and flowing watercourses like Hali Ela, Dunumadalawa Ela, Deniya Ela, Meda Ela, Hul Oya, Pinga Oya, etc., which start from mountain peaks and flow down, feeding the Mahaweli River which flows round the Kandy town, inducing the green equilibrium therein.

Tourism on the decline

The Sunday Morning observed that most tourists were seen only at the Temple of the Tooth Relic. It is learnt that as of recent times, most foreigners visiting Kandy do so on a day visit unlike in previous years, when they would be seen wandering along the winding roads of the township, taking photographs around the Nuwara Wewa (Kandy Lake), and enjoying the beauty of the city. 

“We get only a few bookings from foreigners. They don’t stay that long now. Even those who come to the hotel are not spending much, unlike before. We now prefer locals to foreigners because that way we can at least reach our monthly income expectation,” an owner of a hotel situated at Mahamaya Mawatha in Kandy told The Sunday Morning. 

The hotel has been in business for more than 10 years and is now struggling to survive. As the owner stressed, several constructions that had come up following the completion of his hotel had blocked the view and therefore visitors were now reluctant to stay at his hotel.

“There are a number of buildings that were constructed without proper planning. We don’t know who gave approvals for those building plans, but somehow they have been constructed. Most hotels were built before the pandemic, but now because of those hotels we all lose business,” he stressed, adding that visitors arrived in Kandy to enjoy its lush green environment and uniqueness and therefore nothing would entice them to remain in a concrete building without a view.

On the other hand, another businessman attached to the tourism industry, Saman Bandara, told The Sunday Morning that not just foreigners but locals too were complaining about the bad infrastructure.

“We have a proud history to present. There are a number of tourist attractions. The city itself is a tourist attraction. But nobody cares. Everyone’s trying to fill their pockets somehow. This is why all these illegal constructions are taking place. In the end, only the buildings will remain as visitors may choose to skip the city,” he stressed.

Traffic jams

One needs to pass through many traffic jams before entering the city centre. Even after, due to the poor traffic plan as witnessed by The Sunday Morning, if a turnoff is missed, a vehicle has to travel a significant distance to loop around to the same turnoff. 

The road that leads up to the Temple of the Tooth Relic is also polluted and filled with rubbish, with the authorities seemingly having abandoned their daily cleaning routine. On the other hand, a part of Kandy Lake has become an eyesore due to unauthorised dumping of garbage and littering. The lake looks like it has not been cleaned in years.

The tourism industry in Kandy has been returning to normalcy with the flow of visitors increasing. However, the current condition does little to inspire visitors to return.

The high season for visitors to Kandy will begin soon – a critical period for small business owners and rural communities that depend on this activity to boost the economy and create jobs. 

Nonetheless, the future is uncertain, as the authorities seem to have no proper plan to solve the existing issues.

Heritage and history

The Temple of the Tooth Relic was declared as a sacred site under Extraordinary Gazette No. 301 of 8 June 1984 and subsequently, under Extraordinary Gazette No. 1209/19 of 8 November 2001, the boundaries of the Dalada Maligawa were further widened.

In 1988, since the temple and the surrounding area comprise 490 historical and archaeological buildings and given their particular architectural importance in light of being part of the British Empire, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site.

Out of these 490 historical buildings, 387 or 79% of World Heritage buildings are positioned within the sacred area in the Kandy City centre.

A survey carried out by the Central Province Office of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) in 2017 revealed that architectural characteristics of 40% of World Heritage buildings had fully vanished and 60% had been partly destroyed due to the non-maintenance of these buildings. With repairs not being carried out to a specific standard or method, the architectural values of these buildings have diminished.

Further deterioration has occurred due to there being no activity in the upper storeys of these buildings, the application of incompatible colours, and the usage of non-uniform raw materials and non-uniform billboards, which negatively impact the identity of World Heritage buildings. 

Within the sacred area, World Heritage buildings are spread over nine streets, out of which Colombo Street consists of 80% of such buildings, Kotugodella Street 73%, Yatinuwara Street 66%, Kande Street 60%, and Cross Street 92%. Their structure plus historical and architectural values have also been diminished, the survey revealed. 

The Temple of the Tooth Relic and the surrounding area is one of the most sacred places for Buddhists and as such, has always been maintained as a place of peace and tranquillity. However, the deterioration of historical buildings and the degradation of the surrounding landscape has resulted in the erosion of the historical identity of the locality. 

The picturesque views of Kandy’s mountains are now obstructed by modern buildings which have been erected atop the mountain around the Kandy Lake. Such unorganised construction disrupts the unique surroundings of Kandy and the Temple of the Tooth Relic. 

As highlighted by the UDA, the key problem in the Kandy town could be identified as the “depleting Kandyan heritage image”. Properly managing daily development challenges and reforming the heritage image will increase tourist arrivals and encourage the protection of the unique city.

Kandy City is its own apparatus of natural environmental creation. There are natural forests in the city, such as Udawattakele and Wakarewatta, with the forest area covering about 28 hectares of the entire land area, representing around 11% of the entire land. 

Two-thirds of Kandy town is encircled by the Mahaweli River, which is the principal water source of the town.

Another key issue facing Kandy is environmental degradation, which is continuing due to the ongoing construction across the entire town. The 93% forest coverage that prevailed during the time of British rulers here had gradually dropped to 52% at the time of getting independence. This has reduced further to 35% post-independence, posing a massive threat to the environmental equilibrium of Kandy City.