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| Wednesday, 9 February 2005 |
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The tsunami wave that left so much destruction and tragedy in its wake, should be considered an opportunity. An opportunity to reconstruct a now shattered coastline in a planned, organized manner, which would be a far cry from the earlier unsightly clutter. An opportunity to allow people to own homes that are more suited to tropical climates and built with environmentally-friendly technology, an opportunity to leave out coastal dunes, marshes, wetlands and lagoons free from the burdens of development and construction, an opportunity to veer the coastal population away from practices that are harmful to their own environment and the country in general... But are we using this opportunity? A drive down to Galle last week made it abundantly clear that many of these opportunities will lie to waste as the affected people, tired of waiting for the powers above to make decision, go back to their old homes and their old livelihood. At Moratuwa, where the tsunami devastated rows of illegally constructed homes presented a golden chance to finally clear the railway reservation and the roadside of these fast-expanding quite illicit construction. But lo. By last week, the people were back there, the homes were coming back up very fast. You cannot really blame them either. They were squatting upon extremely valuable roadside land and have no qualms about wanting it back. But Moratuwa is just the beginning. Right down Galle road, the people who have managed to get their wits back together, are putting together rudimentary forms of housing and moving back with the remnants of their belongings. Now it will become a case of trying to evict them again if the Government is serious about the 100 metre ruling- and the Coast Conservation and the UDA assures us that they are- serious about it. Many of the people who are moving back in haste are those living in government reservation land- like the reservation along the railway and the buffer between the coastline and the road. The local authorities and coastal and railway authorities need to take hasty action on this matter- or else we would back where we started in no time. The reconstruction of homes need to be as environmentally suited to the region they are located in. A house design suited for humid Kalutara will not do for arid Hambantota or the northern shores of Vadamarachchi. What has come forth from the State agencies in charge of reconstruction are single, simple house designs that they claim to a one-off answer to all homeless. This cannot be true. Specially, in a country with cultural diversity and different ethnicities that have been affected by the tsunami. This is a time to be innovative and creative with our thinking. The Centre for Housing, Planning, Building had earlier modeled low-cost house designs built with unbaked bricks that have better cooling properties. Many other agencies like NERD and ITDG have the background and expertise for low-cost building that are culturally suited and environmentally sound. Household roof-top water harvesting is one key aspect that could be incorporated in the house designs for arid and dry-zone areas. But even though many of these agencies have submitted their ideas and experience with housing to the state coordinating body, the designs published by NHDA do not reflect any new thinking along sustainable lines. |
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by Tharuka Dissanaike
