Colombo City Tour

The SSA organized an urban exploration tour of Colombo city for the GFDD research fellows on 10th of November 2024.

The first destination of the tour was an important symbol of Sri Lanka’s democracy, the Parliament. During their visit, the political, historical, architectural, and cultural significance of the site was explained to the fellows. They also visited the Independence Memorial Hall located in the Cinnamon Gardens, the Old Parliament building, and Borella Cemetery, which allowed them to explore remnants of Sri Lanka’s colonial history.

The fellows were able to appreciate the religious and cultural diversity of Sri Lanka through  visits to the Sri Ponnambala Vaneswarar Kovil, the  Cathedral of St. Lucia in Kotahena, and St. Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade.

They were taken to the Wanathamulla neighbourhood, located in the heart of Colombo, where the influence of patronage politics on the subaltern living conditions of the area was explained to them. They also received valuable insight about the Sinhapura housing complex and the predicament of development induced displacement and relocation of families.