Don’t destroy Hantana, Kandy’s haven of green
By Dr. Lakmini Illangasinghe
The National Housing Development Authority under the previous government launched a housing project called Hantana Residencies in Hantana, where already exists a housing scheme done by President Premadasa as the Minister of Housing in the 1980s and constructed by an Italian team.
The Italian engineers and geologists carefully selected areas in Hantana where it was safe to build houses and the rest of the land was kept as reservations. The areas left vacant were certainly not buildable land as they were steep slopes, and prone to landslides.
The whole scheme was beautifully and carefully done with proper drainage of water with a common sewerage system. The scheme was designed leaving the natural environment untouched with trees, springs and natural water ways, allowing space for the animals e.g. wild boar, deer, porcupine and about 200 species of birds, in this natural habitat.
The present Housing Authority is planning (already surveyed) to build 145 houses or more in the slopes that were earlier declared as unsuitable for building denuding the whole hill cutting around 150 trees with no mercy for this beautiful environment.
Hantana is like an oxygen producing power station which helps us breathe and curb environment pollution very specially cleaning our environment of virulent viruses and bacteria causing deadly disease to humans.
Kandy had a cool and a pleasant climate in the 1980’s with temperature not above 25 degrees Celsius. Since the denuding of hills, cutting down a great amount of trees and building houses in Anniewatte, Bahirawakanda, Mummetiya, Primrose, Rajaphille and Heeressagala the temperature in Kandy has risen to 35 degrees Celsius. Pollution too remains the highest in Sri Lanka. The only little area left with trees and natural environment is Hantana. If they denude this hill cutting all the trees down and going ahead with the project, we will certainly have our weather close to 40 degrees Celsius in no time taking away the natural coolness and beauty left in Kandy.
The houses are priced above Rs. 180 Lakhs and are are not meant for our ordinary government servant.
Any person with common sense will know that what was unsuitable in the 1980’s is in worse condition now. With every heavy monsoon rainfall, the Disaster Management Centre declares Hantana a landslide-prone area. No scientist or geologist can exactly pinpoint the dangerous areas. They can only predict. What the Housing Authority, NBRO and the Environment Authority are unaware is that every tremor in Matale or Digana or any other place, could be felt in Hantana.
Already the Rock in Hantana at 4th mile post was recorded as sliding in the 1990’s.
The people who are presently living in Hantana are at great risk if this project is not stopped permanently. Minister Sajith Premadasa has listened to our problems and temporarily halted the project. But, every now and then, the Housing Authority shows that they are going ahead with the project. What we need is a permanent halt to this devastating housing project.
As residents of Hantana, we earnestly request the President who is also our Minister of Environment, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Housing to stop this terrible environment damage that can lead to unbearable climate change and global warming in the long run by this disastrous housing project planned by the previous government minister and officials.
Global warming is happening and we as Sri Lankans need to actively prevent it by preserving our trees along with our natural environment.
Everest has moved in 20 metres following the earthquakes in Nepal. For Hantana to move may not take much time if we are unkind and cause damage to the earth and nature!