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| Monday, 19 July 2004 |
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by Florence Wickramage A three month imprisonment and/or a fine is mandatory under provisions of the Penal Code for wilfully damaging or polluting drinking water sources. The Urban Development and Water Supply Ministry is considering strict enforcement of the law if people wilfully pollute and damage water sources, Ministry sources said. The Urban Development and Water Supply Ministry request pilgrims to the Sacred City of Anuradhapura not to pollute Nuwara and Tissa Wewa waters as these two tanks provide drinking water to residents of Anuradhapura and pilgrims. The Ministry has launched an islandwide program to protect water sources. As a first step, Consumer Societies have been set up in Anuradhapura with help from the National Water Supply and Drainage Board Regional Office to cope with around one lakh of pilgrims visiting the Sacred City daily. Members of these societies assisted by Police will advise pilgrims against using the Nuwara Wewa and the Tissa Wewa for their personal hygiene and washing vehicles. As an alternative, the Basawakkulama Wewa will be made available for bathing, Working Director of the Ministry Sunil Sarath Perera told the Daily News yesterday. The Nuwara Wewa and the Tissa Wewa are polluted from the solid waste and waste water being discharged into the tanks by commercial and government institutions, cattle sheds, the public and visitors. According to official sources, the water treatment plants are taxed to the maximum due to the high pollution rate of the tanks. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board under the direction of Urban Development and Water Supply Minister Dinesh Gunawardene has constructed a Rs.10 million pipe-borne water supply system for pilgrims visiting the Sacred City. |
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