Garbage problem yet unresolved
Lakshmi DE SILVA
The garbage disposal problem of the Colombo metropolitan area
remained unresolved for over last two weeks though there was a reduction
in dumping garbage in busy places like Bodhiraja Mawatha, Pettah, due to
the long holidays on account of the Sinhala and Hindu New year. As most
of the shops, eating houses and workplaces remained closed less garbage
was dumped. But in some places the stench was unbearable to those who
returned to work after holidays.
The efforts made by the Municipal authorities to dispose city garbage
at two different sites, one at Peliyagoda and the other at Mahara also
ended in failure as objections were raised by the residents. Though the
Supreme Court had given a directive to the authorities to dump the city
garbage outside the city and the Minister of Urban Development Dinesh
Gunawardena had directed the UDA and other officials to dump the garbage
at the above two sites the problem was not settled up to yesterday.
The Colombo Municipal Council was using the Madampitiya site to dump
the city's garbage using bulldozers, but technical faults of garbage
moving vehicles had halted the quick disposal. Most of the workers had
also taken long holidays for the New Year.
However the garbage collecting process will be started from today and
the machine operators would start their work immediately, a senior
official of the CMC said. |