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The recently renovated Pettah Central Bus Station was officially opened to the public on 8 April 2026. The project was completed at a cost of Rs. 424 million under the Clean Sri Lanka National Programme. There were also reports of damage to the Pettah Central Bus Stand within a few days of its opening. In addition, a number of misleading posts were shared on social media regarding the incident. Below is a fact-check we conducted on a series of such posts.
Claim 1
Social Media Posts:
An ITN News-style post was circulating on social media stating, “Work is underway to install a CCTV camera system in the toilets to identify those who commit acts of sabotage at the Kotuwa bus stand – Deputy Minister Prasanna assures.”
We have undertaken a fact-check on the relevant note.
Fact Check:
The Pettah Central Bus Stand, which was renovated at a cost of Rs. 424 million with the intervention of several institutions, including the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development and the Colombo Municipal Council, under the Clean Sri Lanka concept, was opened to the public on April 8. The mainstream media reported on it as follows.
The mainstream media had reported that an organized group had damaged the renovated Pettah Central Bus Stand, which was opened on April 8, 2026.
On the morning of April 10, while participating in an inspection tour of the Pettah Central Bus Stand, Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena had stated that strict action would be taken against those who cause damage to the Pettah Central Bus Stand. It is noteworthy that a note is being shared in this context stating that the Deputy Minister said that steps would be taken to install a CCTV camera system in the toilets to identify those who commit acts of sabotage at the Fort Bus Stand.
No such post was posted on the official ITN News Facebook page.
Since the relevant social media post was created according to the ITN News format, we initially checked whether the relevant news had been published on the ITN News official Facebook page, and we observed that no such post had been published on the ITN News official Facebook page.
We also checked whether other mainstream media outlets had reported on such an idea expressed while participating in the inspection tour of the Pettah Central Bus Stand, and no such reporting was found there either.
Deputy Minister Prasanna Gunasena’s remarks to the media while participating in the inspection of the damage at the Pettah Central Bus Stand
Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena had participated in an inspection tour of the Pettah Central Bus Stand on the morning of April 10. Speaking to the media, the Deputy Minister had stated that the faucets installed in the women’s toilets had been removed on the first day and then reinstalled, and that the faucets had been removed on the second day, on the night of April 9. The damage to the bus stand is the work of organized parties and strict enforcement of the law and strict security measures will be taken. The Deputy Minister further stated,
“There could be two reasons. One may be an act of ignorance without knowledge about this. But turning on a faucet and turning it on only in women’s toilets is an organized act. Therefore, personally, even though I am a staff member here, I believe that we can have different opinions in politics. This is a matter for the general public, built with the tax money of the general public. We cannot allow it to be damaged and we will enforce the law for this. Because it means that after the second time it will be removed again. After building it last night, it was removed again this morning. That means it will be removed in an organized manner. We know how much mud has been thrown at this both on social media and outside. It is okay to throw mud, but what we are asking is not to damage what was built with public tax money. We think the Sri Lanka Air Force has agreed with us to spend more than 3 months here.
“We are also strictly enforcing the security situation here. There is a shortage of CCTV cameras and we hope to increase that number.” The full statement made by the Deputy Minister is below,
Although it is stated that there is a shortage of CCTV cameras at the bus station and that it is hoped the number will be increased, the Deputy Minister does not mention the need to install CCTV cameras in the toilets at the bus station.
Media Secretary – Deputy Minister Prasanna Gunasena
Commenting on this matter, the Media Secretary to the Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways stated that they were also present when the Deputy Minister went to inspect the damage at the Pettah Bus Stand and that the Deputy Minister did not make such a statement while speaking to the media at that time.
Claim 2
Social Media Posts:
A post was shared on social media stating, “The organizer of the Pohottuwa who destroyed the toilet at the bus stop that was opened yesterday and broke the faucet has been arrested. They were beaten by commuters.”
We took steps to conduct a fact-check on the relevant article, which was prepared in the format of a national television news program.
Fact Check:
On the morning of April 10, while participating in an inspection tour of the Pettah Central Bus Stand, Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena had stated that strict action would be taken against those who cause damage to the Pettah Central Bus Stand. Later, speaking to the media, the Minister pointed out that the faucets installed in the women’s toilets had been removed on the first day and then reinstalled, and that the faucets had been removed on the second day, on the night of April 9. The Minister stated that vandalism of the bus stand is the work of organized parties and that strict enforcement of the law and strict security measures would be taken for this purpose.
It is noteworthy that it was in this context that a post was shared on social media showing a person appearing in a photo with Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa, claiming that an organizer of the Pohottuwa group that destroyed the toilet and broke the faucet at the Pettah bus stand had been arrested.
No such news or post was posted on the official Facebook page of the National Television.
Since the relevant post was created in the format of National Television News, we checked whether it had been published on National Television’s official Facebook page. We found that no such news story or post had been published there, and the above-mentioned person had not been identified as the suspect in any such post.
No mainstream media reports
No mainstream media outlet had reported the arrest of the person identified as a Pohottu organizer in the photo for damaging the Pettah bus stand.
Police Media Unit
We inquired with the Police Media Unit to confirm this, and they confirmed that an individual had been arrested for causing damage to the Pettah Central Bus Stand but stated that the individual was not reported to be a Pohottu organizer.
The young man in the photo has filed a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department today and expressed his views to the media.
The young man, identified in the circulating social media post as the Pohottu organizer who caused damage to the bus stand, appeared before the media today and expressed his views on the matter. He made the following comments after filing a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department about the post, which used his photo in connection with a crime he did not commit.
He has stated that the relevant post was fabricated using a photograph of himself, that he filed a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department today, that he is currently a university student, and that he is not a Pohottu organizer.
Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa
When we inquired about this, Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa also stated that the post circulating with a photograph of the young man, claiming that he had caused damage to the Pettah bus stand, was false propaganda.
Please note: We cannot independently verify whether this individual was involved in the incident. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the individual was responsible for the damage to the Pettah bus stand. When we inquired with the Pettah Police Station, we were told that a person had been arrested in connection with this incident. Since the young man in the photo appeared live before the media and made a statement, it is confirmed that this young man was not the one arrested in connection with the incident at the Pettah bus stand. We are trying to contact the young man, and we hope to update this article once we have done so.
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Title: Misleading posts about vandalism at the renovated Pettah bus stand debunked
Fact Check By: Pavithra Hansani
Result: False
