PLASTIC, KILLS POLYTHENE FISH IN THE NEGOMBO LAGOON

NEGOMBO FISH WILL GO EXTINCT IN THE NEAR FUTURE, SAY FISHERMEN AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS

The Negombo Lagoon was facing a severe environmental threat due to the disposal of chemical waste and e-wastes disposed of by factories situated in the vicinity, environmentalists and fishermen said.

“At this rate, Negombo fish will not be in the market very soon,” Director of the Muthurajawela Environmental Centre Aruna Weerasinghe said.

“Due to disposal of the waste to Negombo Lagoon, severe damage is caused to the water body and it will affect the humans and animals living near the lagoon,” he said.

“People are also not keen on preventing this.though notices are issued not to damage the environment, people and residents continue to dump garbage into the lagoon. Even plastics and polythene are disposed of into the Negombo Lagoon and its environs,” he said. “Negombo Lagoon is considered an ideal place for breeding of fish as there is rich bio-diversity with the exchange of water (Low tide and High tide),” Aruna Weerasinghe said.

He said that the time has come to pay serious attention to the issue. Large amounts of garbage including chemical and e-waste, is dumped into the lagoon and it will severely affect the lives of the fish. Fisherman Sunil Joseph, who has been fishing for over 20 years also lamented that the Muthurajawela mangroves and the Negombo Lagoon were facing a threat from plastic and e-waste. “Many factories currently running in the towns of Katunayake, Seeduwa, Kurana, Dandugama and Ekala are disposing waste into the system near the wetlands,” he said. Supun Lahiru, a member of the Bio-diversity Conservation and Research Circle said that the Negombo Lagoon has presently been facing severe environmental problems. “several species of fish could go extinct due to the pollution,” he said.

“There are over 3,000 fishermen who depend on the Negombo Lagoon to maintain their families. It will be a big threat for these families in the near future,” he said.

When we inquired, the Divisional Engineer of the Department of Coastal Conservation (Colombo North Office) Sanath Padmasiri said that dumping of waste within the vicinity of these water bodies was illegal.

“No one can dispose of anything within two kilometres from the Negombo Beach and Negombo Lagoon,” he said.

“Necessary steps would be taken against those who dump garbage in the wetlands and the culprits would be brought to the Court.the people’s support is also essential to keep the environment clean,” he said.

There are two main water resources connected to the Negombo Lagoon that are full of natural beauty. Uruwal Oya is one of the resources joining Negombo Lagoon coming from Ja-ela, while Attanagalu Oya, which is also called Dandugam Oya, is the next resource joining the lagoon.

Due to disposal of the waste to Negombo Lagoon, severe damage is caused to the water body and it will affect the humans and animals living near the lagoon