News
Excessive gem mining blamed for sinking of Godawela road
View(s):By A G Wickremesinghe
To ease the traffic congestion on the roads leading to the flood-prone Ratnapura, the Godawela Road in Ratnapura was filled up to several feet high and repaired at a cost of Rs 110 million.
However, the Gems and Jewellery Authority has granted permission for mining activities on lands on both sides of the road. For the past several weeks, large-scale mining has been going on with several backhoes working throughout the day.
A large stretch of the reconstructed part of the Godawela Road sank last week. Residents attribute the damage to unchecked mining activities. They say the Authority’s licensing policy had only increased illegal gem mining.
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- Pix by Alugolla Wickramasinghe
Ratnapura Mayor Tyrone Attanayake said the law required that mining should be done in lands situated 150 metres away from the road.
He said the Ratnapura office of the Gems and Jewellery Authority should be held responsible for the sinking of the road. He said that at a meeting held on January 2, he raised the issue with officials of the Road Development Authority, the Gems and Jewellery Authority, and mining licensees and sought assurance that such a situation would not be repeated.
Mr Attanayake said that at a separate meeting, the Gems and Jewellery Authority promised it would bear the cost for the relaying of the damaged road.
The matter also came up for discussion at a meeting chaired by Sabaragamuwa Provincial Governor Tikiri Kobbekaduwa.
The Governor noted that unchecked granting of mining licences had led to environmental harm in the area. He alleged the relevant agency did not learn from its mistakes and take follow-up action.
Mr Kobbekaduwa said there were laws but they were not enforced fully.
The governor also said if the mining activities were not checked that there was a high possibility the archaeologically valuable Ehelepola Walawwa might also sink in the near future.
“We must protect heritage buildings for our future generations.” Mr Kobbekaduwa said.
The Governor said measures were being taken to stop the mining on both sides of the Godawela Road. A panel of engineers appointed to study the cause of the sinking will hand over its report tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Ven Ihalawatte Gunawansa Thera, the convener of ‘Sabaragamuwata Hetak’ said the mining activities were being carried out with the support of powerful politicians. He said unauthorised mining was the main cause of severe environmental degradation in the gem-rich district.
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