Residents unhappy about project to be constructed on five acre paddy field

Residents of Heenatikumbura, Talangama expressed their displeasure

towards the sewerage plant which is to be constructed by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board on a five acre paddy field at a cost of USD 300 million.

Speaking to the media, residents said they could not have faith in the project, when a similar project in Soysapura, Moratuwa had resulted in residents suffering through an unbearable stench for the past six years.

“We do not trust the plans that have been set up. The authorities said they are diverting waste water here but we are sure they will divert sewerage water here. These ar e lands that were cultivated for years, we don’t want these fields to be destroyed in such a manner.”

Dulshan Ellawala, a resident, speaking of his concerns said such projects were usually established in unpopulated areas if we were to look at the global trend. “It is illegal to implement such projects in densely populated areas across the world. We have studied similar projects implemented in countries like Japan and Korea and we are sure it would be a health hazard if the project was to be implemented here.”

Data and statistics provided by the World Health Organization stated that there was a high tendency for skin diseases, complexities in the corpuscles and respiratory issues to arise when such projects were implemented in highly dense areas, Mr. Ellawala said.

“The project is scheduled to be completed by 2028. The issue is that the authorities have not factored in the population growth and density for that period in time, and the only other alternative would be for them to release the water to the Diyawanna Oya. This is a futile project,” he concluded.

The Chief Incumbent of the Heenatikumbura Temple, speaking of the issue said the paddy field had supplied 32 kilos of Heenati rice to the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy during the Kotte period when King Parakramabahu VI ruled. “There are stories about this paddy field which are connected to the sending of Selelihini Sandeshaya of Ven. Thotagamuwe Rahula Thera.”

This project could have been established in a less populated area, according to the monk. The secretary of the association established to protest against the project, Premaratna Walpola said, officials were not in a position to divulge information about the project as they did not have approval for the project. However, when contacted, Chairman of the Water Board, K. Alahudeen Ansar said that the relevant project was prepared according to the existing environmental ethics and regulations and that the project was implemented taking into consideration the population growth for the next 40 years. He pointed out that there is a need for such a project for an area like Heenatikumbura which is a fast developing area. He pointed out that such pump houses had been constructed in such densely populated areas in some parts of Korea, Japan and China as well.

The increasing population would lead to sewerage systems of an unsystematic manner in the area, which in turn would contaminate any underground water resources. The project would prevent the contamination of such resources. “We have similar projects in Kandy, Moratuwa, Ratmalana and Kurunegala,” Mr. Ansar said.

He went on to explain that the land chosen was a barren and abandoned paddy land, which would not have been considered if it was still being cultivated.

In conclusion, he said that technological knowledge will be used to make this project a success with the knowledge of experts who have gained experience in foreign countries. However, there is no plan made to establish this project contrary to the environmental ethics and laws.