News
Mosquitoes, rats, snakes breeding in front of CMC Pest Control Unit
View(s):By Kasun Warakapitiya
Garbage stacked near the land
Staring at the Colombo Municipal Council’s (CMC) Pest Control Unit is an abandoned Urban Development Authority (UDA) property – one of the capital city’s major breeding grounds for pests from snakes to rats, palm civets and mosquitoes.
With mosquito-driven Dengue and Chikungunya now raging in Colombo’s city limits, this property has become a major health hazard. The 74 perch block was the site for a proposed housing project which was stopped abruptly 11 years ago due to faulty pile driving on the marshy land.
Over the years, the unattended-to land is overgrown with weeds, shrubs and small trees and is a convenient spot for garbage disposal. The officials at the Pest Control Unit avoided taking any responsibility putting the blame on the UDA which owned the property.
One of the key functions of this Unit, according to its own profile, is to “inspect properties to identify pest infestations and the type of pests present”. But in this case, by their own admission, they can’t do anything about pest infestations right next to their office as the land belongs to the UDA.
The Sunday Times team this week witnessed the state of the mosquito–infested land, which was filled with tin cans, discarded garbage, paint canisters, shattered glass bottles and old tyres.
The property’s guard room and its washroom remained abandoned. Though there were no lights, the electricity meter remained operational indicating that electricity was being tapped illegally.
Residents in the area told us that their families were down with Dengue or Chikungunya or are afraid it will hit them anytime as numbers of city dwellers seeking hospital treatment has risen exponentially in recent weeks.
As many as 113 low-income families at the nearby ’189 Watta’ were facing the brunt of the mosquito-related fevers and joint aches sweeping the city. One of them told us that a complaint to the CMC’s Pest Control Unit went unattended. The property on which the Unit sits itself is in an appalling state with overgrown and unkempt foliage.
They told us that their houses were not well-planned while the streets and passages to their houses have remained in the same state for many years.
According to them, the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the UDA promised to build them a mega housing scheme (flats) consisting of 115 housing units in the property now abandoned, but that was 11 years ago.
The CMC Pest Control Unit (top) and the abandoned land now in state of neglect next door. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Even though six houses out of 85 houses in the ‘watta’ had been removed by the UDA, only the roofs were removed and therefore the walls and rubble remain in the houses contributing to the mosquito, rodent and snake issue.
A.T Rajinikanth (43) a resident, who lives next to the abandoned land said that he is concerned of the health of his three daughters, as the land has become a mosquito breeding and harbouring place, and it is a matter of time that his children could contract dengue or Chikungunya. He said apart from that, from time to time mice as well as snakes frequent his house.
“We were promised a house in the flat which was scheduled to be set up at the abandoned land, yet it was stopped halfway after pile driving was done, even though 15 houses were scheduled to be removed for construction of the flat”, he said.
Ideal mosquito-breeding site close to the land
Another Resident of the area Sandanam flory (67) told the Sunday Times that she and her daughter-in-law contracted Chikungunya. “Many residents in 189 Watta contracted Chikungunya. I find it really difficult to move around due to joint pain, and now my daughter in law is bed-ridden due to the ailment”, she said.
Y. Sanjeewa Francis, the Health Instructor attached to the CMC Pest Control Unit admitted that there are mosquito-breeding places within the abandoned land and claimed to carrying out fogging and spraying of chemicals.
A.T Rajinikanth
“But we are unable to clear out the land as it is not under our purview”, he said.
The Deputy Chief Medical Officer of the CMC, Dr. K. Sriprathapan told the Sunday Times that they have not received any complaints on the matter. However, they would deploy teams to inspect the area and take action. The contractor who was entrusted with the construction of the flats, Subasinghe Constructions, said that the project was mutually terminated by them and the government. The Sunday Timeslearned that the ‘Subasinghe Constructions’ was the second contractor who obtained the contract to build the housing complex under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
Sandanam Flory
A spokesman for the company said as a safety measure they, with the UDA as well as the consultants of the project, the State Engineering Corporation (SEC), reviewed the piling and found eight to nine pilings had failed. Therefore, it required 18 to 19 more piling as reinforcements, he said. ‘As additional piling was not included in the contract additional rates were communicated to the UDA, but it was not approved, so we had to mutually terminate the contract in 2019 to 2020”, he said.
UDA’s Deputy Director General (Real Estate and Land Management), E. A. C. Piyashantha told the Sunday Times that the project was initiated in 2014 by the State Engineering Corporation and then the contract was given to Subasinghe Constructions in 2017 before it was mutually terminated.
Mr. Piyashantha said that the abandoned UDA land would soon be cleared, and construction of the tenements would recommence as the UDA had received funding from the budget. He said that the UDA is currently in the process of calling for tenders.
The abandoned security room
Abandoned house after residents left
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!