Environmentalists claim officials cutting down trees instead of clearing garbage
Government agencies acting on complaints of flooding in the Akurana town went on to destroy trees on the Pinga Oya bank in the Katugastota area instead of finding a solution to clear garbage and plastic which was causing the flooding.
Environmentalists said the Mahaweli Authority and officials from the Disaster Management Centre’s Kandy office who were opting for an easy solution without clearing the garbage, had started to cut down the trees at the bank and broadened the oya.
According to the environmentalists, the move to broaden the oya by using backhoes was carried out from Wednesday and continued throughout the day and night of Thursday. They halted their operation on Friday. Though the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) had approved the move, it had been done without carrying out an environmental damage assessment or feasibility report. The environmental groups said when such a move is carried out in a water body, an environmental damage assessment report is essential.
The area which was considered as an urban wetland, consisted of rover site forests and acted to retain flood water. The floods were caused as the garbage blocked the oya, and the garbage and plastic needed to be removed instead of damaging the wetland by cutting the trees.
However the officials who carried out the operation claimed they broadened the oya as a solution for the floods, while the environmentalists countered that the Mahaweli Authority had breached the environmental regulations conducted by it.
The environmentalists said through this move the officials are misusing State funds, yet no action had been taken despite the responsible authorities having been informed of the incident.