POLICE DISPERSE PROTEST ORGANISED BY RESIDENTS IN PUTTALAM

A protest organized by a group of residents and activists in Puttalam town over the Aruwakkalu Hygienic Solid Waste Disposal Project (AHSWDP) was dispersed by the police yesterday.

The campaign comes amidst several other protests organized against the project for various reasons including that of environmental conservation which has now extended to include claims that the Urban Development Authority (UDA) had laid a drainage line to release waste to the lagoon.

The project, part of the Metro Colombo Solid Waste Management Project, is but one sanitary landfill that has been established in several key locations across the country with the use of technology from South Korea. The technology is considered to be a safe and sustainable solution for solid waste disposal.

Speaking to the media regarding the project on a previous occasion, officials from the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development said that it was apparent that some groups were attempting to sabotage any move launched as a solution to the disposal of garbage.

Additional Secretary to the Ministry Madhawa Waidyaratne said the recycling project was introduced as a viable solution to the disposal of garbage in the country. “The engineers in charge of the project assure that the solid waste disposal site will have impact neither on the environment nor on the people in Puttalam district.”

Representing the Ministry at the occasion, Waidyaratne urged residents not to be misled and hoodwinked by false propaganda used for political gain. “This is not the first instance where the people showed there agitation against a garbage disposal project.”

Puttalam turned into a ghost town on Monday when all business establishments and private sector institutions put up shutters and staged a hartal against the Aruwakkalu Garbage Recycling plant.

The project directors say the solid waste disposal has become a problem in Sri Lanka as well as in the world and garbage mountains were created by disposing solid waste without proper management leading to the catastrophic events like the collapse of Meethotamulla garbage dump that killed 32 people last year.

PICS BY HIRAN PRIYANKARA JAYASINGHE