Garbage issue to be scientifically resolved

Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said they will not allow bankrupt politicians and their henchmen to make political capital out of the garbage issue.

"We will cry halt to the process of spelling destruction to the mother earth through the creation of garbage mountain mafias after bribing certain politicians and officials," he said.

Ranawaka was addressing a meeting after opening the renovated Bodhiraja Mawatha in Habarakada, Homagama on April 22. The RDA and the UDA had spent Rs 9.5 million to renovate this road by carpeting it.

Ranawaka said garbage collected from Colombo had been dumped in a land belonging to the UDA notwithstanding their opposition. Last February too they warned about a possible tragedy if this process continued unabated. However, Minister Faizer Mustapha requested that they be allowed to continue it until an alternative location was found. The Western Provincial Council and the CMC had also been thrice notified to desist from dumping garbage at Meethotamulla since 2015. Minister Ranawaka said given this situation it was futile to point the accusing finger at them after the tragedy had already occurred after their repeated warnings.

He said now the houses built by his Ministry for the Greater Colombo storm water drainage project had been allocated to those families which lost their houses in the Meethotamulla tragedy in double quick time. But people who lost their houses in a landslide in Bandarawela during the Rajapaksa regime had still not received alternative houses.

This is the difference between the Yahapalana government and the Rajapaksa regime.

The government had now undertaken the task of rehabilitating the Meethotamulla garbage mountain. It had been planned to introduce a scientifically managed garbage dump and find a technological solution to the whole problem. All political parties should rally round to make this effort a success treating it as a national responsibility disregarding political differences. Those who tried to make political capital out of the garbage problem would be taught a bitter lesson by the people in future.

Provincial Minister Gamini Thilakasiri and opposition leader of the Western Provincial Council Manju Sri Arangala were also present. 

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