It seems like the tragic tale of Patachara, but in a different time, a different place and different circumstances. Patachara lost but two children……….in the case of R.M. Chandrika Siriwardane, she has lost three and waits fearfully. Will the same fate befall her fourth?

It is afternoon with a blazing sun shining down but in the heart of the city, an electric saw is at work. It seems to be tree-cutting time down Gregory’s Road, Colombo 7 and the top part of a large mara tree is being chopped up, branch by branch.