Geological Report a must prior to constructions

By Dhananjani Silva and Nadia Fazlulhaq

In the context of the increasing number of landslides in the hill country, the implementation of the new rule of submitting a geological report from the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), prior to construction of houses will come into effect in the near future, a senior NBRO official said.

According to the Head Landslides Division, NBRO R.M.S. Bandara, this practice would help minimise the number of landslides and thereby ensure the safety of the people in such disaster prone areas.

“Although this is not enforced as a law, most of the Pradeshiya Sabhas request for a geological report before issuing the building license,” he said. However, he said there were instances where people build houses without obtaining the report due to the lack of awareness of its importance.

Meanwhile, officials from the Kadugannawa and Gampola Pradeshiya Sabhas when contacted told The Sunday Times that they were yet to initiate this practice.

The Kandy Times in last month’s issue spotlighted some of the areas which were badly affected due to the heavy rains.
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