A tense situation arose at Jaffna Central College when the Minister of Sports refused to unveil a commemorative plaque due to disagreements over how the long-abandoned swimming pool should be renovated. The minister left the venue without participating in the unveiling ceremony, which had been arranged as part of the project’s launch.
The incident took place yesterday (23) during the visit of Sports Minister Sunil Kumar Kamage, who arrived at the college to inspect and initiate the preliminary work of the swimming pool renovation.
The deep diving pool at Jaffna Central College was originally constructed and opened in 2012 during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration. However, the facility soon fell into disuse and was abandoned due to lack of maintenance.
The current government has taken steps to restore the pool. During his visit, Minister Kamage inspected the site and proposed converting the deep diving pool into a standard shallow pool. He stated that while only a limited number of people use diving pools, a shallow pool would benefit a larger number of students and the community, making it a more effective use of public funds.
This suggestion created division within the school community. One group insisted that the pool should be restored exactly as it was, while another group agreed with the minister’s proposal to convert it into a regular pool.
Due to the conflicting opinions, confusion arose during the event. After delivering his speech at the venue near the pool, the minister declined to unveil the commemorative plaque that had been prepared for the ceremony. Despite requests from the principal and several others urging him to proceed with the unveiling, the minister refused.
He stated that renovation work would only move forward once the school reached a unified decision on the type of pool they preferred. Following this, he left the premises.
Parliamentarian Karunaithasan Illankumaran, Jaffna District Secretary Maruthalingam Pratheepan, and Jaffna Municipal Council Member Kapilan Sundaramurthy, among others, attended the event.
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