pollution at NWSDB sewage station

Hundreds of people affected by

Residents of the area have been affected by a gas with a nauseating smell emanating from the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) Sewage Pumping Station at Ratmalana Station Road off Belek kade junction.they said hundreds of people had taken ill by breathing polluted air with a poisonous gas.they were of the opinion that a sewage line might have burst and developed a leak.

A resident of the area Nalini Gunasekara said, the Water Board should not have installed a sewage pumping station in a residential area with a thick population. She said the NWSDB misled the people saying they were going to install a water treatment plant and not a sewage pumping station.

“Now all water including toilet waste, flows into the pumping station through underground pipelines. The nauseating smell from the pumping station is unbearable.the gaseous smell has resulted in serious illnesses and we are unable to enjoy our meals due to the bad smell,” she said.

A trader of the area Prasanna Devapriya said, I have been compelled to close my hotel for want of customers.

The people would not eat food affected by polluted air. We will have no alternative but to go to courts seeking relief. Our continual representations to the relevant authorities fell on deaf ears, and our only request is to shift the sewage pumping station to another location, or else we will be compelled to leave the area,” he said.

Meanwhile an Engineer of the NWSDB said steps were being taken to resolve the issue soon. He said all toilet waste from Attidiya, Ratmalana and Badovita areas are collected at the pumping station. He admitted that the people are facing hardship due to the bad smell polluting the air.