Dumping garbage in Green Zone: Suspect to be produced on Feb. 15

Chamikara Weerasinghe

The flying squad of Wildlife Conservation Department arrested a person dumping garbage in the Green Zone located in front of Central Environment Authority building in Battaramulla last Tuesday.

The officers of the flying squad arrested him for throwing garbage-filled bags into the marshy land in front of the Central Environment Authority, which is a Green Zone belonging to the Authority.

The suspect is a resident of Robert Gunawardena Mawatha, sources at Environment Ministry said. He had come to the location in his car from home with the garbage sacks to be thrown into the marsh.

The Investigation Unit of the Wildlife Department released him on a personal bail of Rs. 30,000.

The suspect is to be produced before a Magistrate on February 15.

Environment and Natural Resources Minister Champika Ranawaka said that the suspect's act was an insult on other decent residents in the area, the area being marked as a Green Zone .

The Minister said that the Ministry will continue to arrest those who dump refuse in the Green Zones with the help of Wildlife Department's flying squad.

Persons found throwing garbage in this manner in the Wildlife Zone of Kotte Sanctuary Area could be punishable with fines extending to Rs. 50,000 or imprisonment extending from two to five years, Environment Ministry sources said.