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Ditwah disaster: Some councils dump waste in wetlands defying MEPA and CEA guidelines
View(s):By Nidarshani Wickramasinghe
Some government bodies are discarding waste in a manner that is detrimental to the environment disregarding instructions by the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) and the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), in the aftermath of the trail of destruction left behind by cyclone Ditwah.
The Sunday Times observed that some municipal councils had dumped waste in wetland areas, with the latest being the Kurukupaluwa mangrove, in the Puttalam District.
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- Waste being dumped in the Kurukupaluwa mangrove, in the Puttalam District
The Chilaw Urban Council garbage tractors were seen dumping waste that included plastic, hospital waste rubble and debris from affected areas.
According to the MEPA the disaster has impacted the marine environment and coastal areas with increased contamination.
The MEPA has drawn up a clean up programme to clearriver beds and canal systems of pollutants.
The programme is to continue until December 19
The Sunday Times learns that Negombo and Chillaw areas were cleaned on Friday, December 12. Yet, on the very same day, workers attached to the Chillaw Urban Council were seen dumping chemical and general waste into the Kurukupaluwa mangrove in the presence of council officers
The Sunday Times‘ attempts to contact officials of the Chilaw Urban Council were unsuccessful.
MEPA Chairman Samantha Gunasekara condemned these activities by some state entities.
“We informed the whole country. On the very day we were doing the cleanup operation along coasts in the Kurukupaluwa area, the Chilaw Municipal Council trucks came and dumped waste right there. It is really a shame to see the conduct of institutions which ought to act responsibly,” he added.
CEA guidelines have also been notified relating to the disposal of food waste, paper, cardboard, plastics, metals, clothing, glass, building debris and general solid waste.
However, K.A.P. Borelessa of the Public Health Inspectors’ (PHIs) Association said they had not received such instructions.
PHI’s working in disaster-affected areas also confirmed that they had not received such information.
A PHI attached to the Gampaha Municipal Council, Upul Kumara said that all garbage collected as a result of the cyclone and floods in Gampaha have been disposed of and they had not received any special instructions.
“Usually we carry the waste to Muthurajawela landfill sites or to the waste transfer locations used by the Western Power thermal plant,” he said.
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