By Munza Mushtaq
While the masses tighten their belts, staggering in the face of the skyrocketing cost of living, the forthcoming SAARC summit is set to cost Sri Lanka at least a whopping Rs. 3 billion, The Nation learns.
According to the initial estimates drawn up on Friday, the summit, which was shifted from Kandy to Colombo due to security and infrastructure related issues, will cost the country a staggering Rs. 2,889,180, 332.

The Rs. 2.8 billion estimate includes infrastructure development, accommodation, transport and decorations. The government will seek to pass the Rs. 2.8 billion as a supplementary budget at the next Parliamentary session.
Sources, however, stressed that the final cost is usually much higher than the initial estimate, due to which there was a huge possibility that the total cost of the summit would surpass the Rs. 3 billion mark.

Meanwhile, The Nation learns that apart from purchasing a large number of luxury vehicles for the use of VVIPs, the government is also spending millions to lease out vehicles for the use of other delegates at the summit.
Sri Lanka is expecting around 800 to 900 delegates at the summit, with more than 150 foreign journalists also expected to cover the two-day event.

At Friday’s meeting, chaired by Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, a decision was taken to move beggars out from the city, owing to a possible security threat.
A security blanket in the country’s commercial capital will be enforced with the assistance of the Police and the three armed forces; the Army, Navy and Air Force.
“Most of the countries have expressed apprehension over the prevailing security situation in the country and the Minister, who also visited New Delhi recently, have assured that the strictest security measures would be in place during the SAARC summit,” sources said.

Meanwhile, sources also said that the issue of stray dogs in the city had also been taken up and that the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) was likely to be tasked with taking care of the stray dog menace.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to be in Sri Lanka for two full days during the summit. He is also expected to meet with all key political parties during his stay in the country.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bogollagama is expected to travel to Pakistan early this week to invite Pakistan for the summit.
Meanwhile, the high-level Indian delegation which arrived in the country on Friday left the island yesterday after holding talks with President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

A spokesman for the Indian High Commission in Colombo told The Nation that the visit was primarily made to discuss the agenda and security at the forthcoming summit.

However, the delegation, comprising India’s National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, had also touched on the country’s primary issue, the nearly three-decade long ethnic conflict. Highly-placed sources said that the top Indian delegation had stressed the need to focus on a political solution to the conflict during their meeting with President Rajapaksa yesterday.

****