Unbridled garbage storm in Panadura
Is dumping garbage near the Panadura Railway Station launching a prelude to another Meethotamulla?
Filthy water from the dumping ground flowed into home gardens; the smell from the dump was unbearable. Eateries near the railway station lost business due to this reason
Residents of Panadura said that garbage disposal in Panadura town had collapsed and that the situation worsened after the Panadura UC was dissolved.
People living close to the Panadura Railway Station said the UC had told them that a garbage recycling plant would be installed in the dumping ground near the railway station. However, a recycling plant was not commissioned, and instead, garbage was directed to a recycling centre under the purview in of the Western Provincial Council.
It was reported that the management of this recycling centre had refused to accept garbage from Panadura town and that it had compelled the Panadura UC administration to transport garbage to other areas at heavy expense.
People also complained that a massive heap of garbage had been collected in the dumping ground near the railway station creating a serious health hazard. They charged that during heavy rains experienced currently, filthy storm water from the dumping ground flowed down the roads into home gardens and that the nauseating smell from dump was unbearable. Several businessmen running eateries said regular customers refrained from patronising hotels near the railway station due to this reason.
A senior official of the Pandura Railway Station said they have been compelled to breathe polluted air from the dumping ground and that passengers also complained about it.
The secretary of the UC and the authorised officer of the Panadura town area, Nelun Iddagoda said the removal of town garbage has been undertaken by a private contractor and that the problems would be overcome soon. She said sorting of garbage was a time-consuming task.
M.J.M. Rismi of Adamporoswatte in Keselwatte said that the non-removal of garbage and the smelly water was an irritating nuisance to area residents, and that the authorities have overlooked the issue that promoted the spread of contagious diseases. Earlier, there had been occasions when the PHIs accompanied by police had visited the area and those responsible for littering fined. “It is not happening now: no-one seems to be concerned,” he said.
A former councillor of Panadura UC, Nandana Soysa, said after court banned the dumping of garbage at the Karadiyana garbage recycling plant, this issue has aggravated. “They have not found a place to dump the stuff and with the dissolution of the council no-one seems to be taking over that responsibility,” he observed.
The Commissioner of the Panadura Pradeshiya Sabha and former secretary, when posed with this matter said that about 90% of this problem had been handled and that the issue sorted out within the next few days.
However area residents said the garbage recycling project at Karadiyana was under the Western PC. It was therefore a question why the Panadura UC had been refused permission to use it. They accused the authorities of engaging a private company to transport garbage to a distant area at a colossal cost. They were of the view that the UC should have instructed the public to sort out garbage to be transported in separate vehicles so that the problem of sorting out huge collections of garbage at the dumping grounds engaging labourers could be avoided.