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Readying for what the rains may bring

Although some local authorities quoted by us refrained from making any gloomy predictions in regard to the consequences of the present spell of heavy rain, our front page picture yesterday of some inundated country roads told a different story. True, the flood situation in the Western Province, the seat of political power and the administrative hub of the country, has not reached alarming proportions as yet, but quite a few homesteads in the vicinity of waterways and rivers in the provinces have gone under water. One evidence of this was our page one picture of the Colombo-Puttalam main road.

Obviously, we need to be in a high state of preparedness for any unpleasant consequences the heavy rains may bring, although it is our fervent wish that there may not be any need for these anticipatory actions.

It may be mentioned in passing that the current heavy rains coming on the heels of a severe drought, confirm the recurrence of anomalous weather patterns in this country, pointing to the relentless ecological damage which Sri Lanka is suffering, although to all outward appearances, nothing seems to be radically wrong with these freaky weather phenomena.

We hope our environmental scientists and other relevant experts are going behind these appearances for the whole, harsh truth about our environment. It is important to remember that, come what may, the central tenets of sustainable development cannot be violated in the furtherance of anyone's selfish interests.

Coming back to inclement monsoon showers and the inundation of our highways and homesteads, it must be remembered that areas most prone to flooding in urban centres are the so-called low lying areas which have been "developed" and put to some use by landlords and land owners. The latter could also include the State and its representatives.

It is the unpleasant experience of the public that some important highways located even within Colombo municipal limits are inundated in a thrice regardless of whether we experience monsoon showers or otherwise.

This time round too, areas like Narahenpita and Borella are experiencing some floods. A notable number of families have been rendered homeless.

The great deluge of June 1992 which wreaked havoc in even the most affluent residential areas of Colombo city had some important lessons for us, which have, apparently, not been heeded much. The so-called low lying areas of the city and other important urban areas are really the "sponges" which absorb excess water when heavy rains lash them. These low lying areas were, at one time, mostly marsh land which helped keep the ecological balance of the country. In former times, excess rain water was diverted to these low lying, marsh land which absorbed it and helped sustain life forms and greenery which are important from an ecological view point.

The "development boom" over the past two decades, however, has utterly disrupted these ecological resources and brought considerable disorientation into the lives of the people. Some land developers and businessmen have proved to be prime causative agents in the conversion of these low lying areas into seemingly salubrious residential climes but with a very high price. Besides flood waters remaining dammed, as it were, in the heart of towns and urban centres, during heavy rains, on account of outlying, marsh land being "developed", new "housing estates" themselves go under water in these situations.

We wonder how many of these lessons have been learnt and acted on? There is no getting away from the fact that urban development has to be carefully planned and implemented, taking into consideration, a number of environmental concerns. On and off we hear of ill-planned buildings being brought down by urban development personnel. The intention here is to make room for wider roads and kindred amenities. A determination of the same kind should be exercised in planning out a truly salubrious urban environment.

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