Dumping garbage: it doesn’t matter where

Dehiwela - Mt Lavinia MC gathers forces to end a curse

PHIs in civvies lay in ambush in Bangalawa Road in Ratmalana and seized a tractor owned by a government institution unloading garbage by the side of the road

The Health Department of the Dehiwala- Mount Lavinia Municipal Council has launched a campaign to keep the city clean and to arrest individuals and institutions responsible for the haphazard dumping of garbage to the annoyance and inconvenience to the public especially vehicle users.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Indika Ellawala confirmed he had received several complaints regarding the dumping of garbage on roadsides.

Yesterday, public health inspectors in civvies lay in ambush in Bangalawa Road in Ratmalana acting on on information gathered from the public, seized a tractor owned by a government institution that unloaded garbage by the side of the road.The crew had unloaded three tractor loads of garbage before they were arrested when they were unloading another one. Health inspectors said that pruners of roadside trees often left branches obstructing the movement of pedestrians and traffic. The practice had also resulted in accidents.

Administrative PHI H.Lalith Perera said many persons travelling by vehicles left bags of garbage on the road without any concern about the environmental damage their action caused. He said a team of public health inspectors with the help of the police was carrying out continual raids to arrest the unscrupulous individuals dumping garbage in public places.

Administrative PHI Lalith Perera, Public Health Inspectors N.P.G. Wimalaratna, Laxman Siriwardene, and Ranjith Silva and a team of officials of the Mount Lavinia Police Environmental Unit acted on the instructions of CMOH Dr. Indika Ellawala.