No more garbage at Meethotamulla

In the aftermath of Friday’s garbage landslide, the Government has decided to halt further dumping of garbage at Meethotamulla.

Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha De Silva announced yesterday that two temporary locations had been identified to dump garbage from Colombo.

Colombo's Municipal Commissioner V.K. Anura told the Sunday Times the new process would begin from tomorrow. He said the decision to stop dumping garbage in Meethotamulla did not mean that the people would see mounds of garbage lying uncollected on Colombo’s streets. “We assure the people that this will not happen. Garbage will be collected as usual.”

The Megapolis and Western Development Ministry, meanwhile, has been working on finding solutions to the city’s garbage problem.

Ministry Secretary N. Rupasinghe said providing a short-term solution to the garbage issue was the responsibility of the Colombo Municipality. “It will have to make this temporary solution work for about two-and-a-half years, during which time we will be able to find a permanent solution,” he said.

Mr. Rupasinghe said the initial plan had been to transport garbage collected in Colombo to Aruvakkalu in the Puttalam district. “However, due to protests by various environmental organisations, we had to push that back and it will take about four years for that to be completed,”

Meanwhile, the Ministry has also entered into an agreement with a power company to set up a garbage treatment plant at Meethotamulla. This facility would be ready in two years.