Rathupaswala residents angry about contaminated water

Secretary, Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage A. Abeygunasekera yesterday said that the water contained in several areas surrounding the Kelani River had been contaminated by chemicals.

Mr. Abeygunasekera made this point with regard to the situation in Rathupaswala in the Gampaha District where tension prevailed with people performing a Sathyagraha alleging that their well water contained acid. He said that the situation was the same with regard to water in the Kelani River.

He said that initial investigations carried out by the Water Supply and Drainage Board in Rathupaswala had confirmed that there was an acid content in the water. He said bowsers had been deployed to supply clean drinking water to residents in the area. As a long term measure it had been decided to expand the capacity of the new water treatment plant that was being built in Biyagama so that it would be able to purify the water and supply clean drinking water to more people.

Meanwhile both

He said that initial investigations carried out by the Water Supply and Drainage Board in Rathupaswala had confirmed that there was an acid content in the water

the UNP and the JVP yesterday stressed the need for urgent steps to be taken to supply clean drinking water to 2500 families who were affected as a result of the water getting contaminated. Initial reports allegedly showed that chemicals coming out of a factory in the area could be to blame for the increased levels of acid found in the water. JVP Gampaha District MP Vijitha Herath, in a statement yesterday, said that the authorities had failed miserably to address the contaminated water issue in an effective manner. He said that families in Nendungamuwa, Sivuruemulla, Maharagama, and Seenigama Grama Seva Divisions had been badly affected by this environmental hazard.