Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has once again led an outcry against transferring of Colombo garbage to Ja-Ela.

In a joint communiqué addressed to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe,Cardinal Ranjith has drawn their attention to the fact that the land that has been proposed by the Colombo Municipal Council for dumping its garbage at Ja-Ela is in a thickly populated area surrounded by streams and rivers flowing into the Negombo lagoon.

The communiqué signed by several other prominent people of the area, including Ven. Balagalle Dhammaseeha thera, Ven. Narampanawe Wimalajothi thera, State Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Sudarshani Fernandopulle and Rev. Fr. Priya Jayamanne, has also pointed out that most of this in the area also consume well water.

Following is the text of the joint communiqué:

We as responsible citizens of this country wish to make a fervent appeal to the President Maithripala Sirisena and the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to do everything within their capacity to prevent the dumping of garbage from the city of Colombo to thickly populated areas in our country like Ja-Ela. We are aware that there is immense pressure to find a solution to this problem and we fell that to do so one should not cause ecological and environmental damage.

The land that has been proposed by the Colombo Municipal Council for dumping this garbage is in a thickly populated area surrounded by streams and rivers flowing into the Negombo lagoon. Most of the people in this area also consume well water. Besides there is a high risk of all these people being affected and the problem of flooding, which is already endemic in this area could become unresolvable. Therefore in the name of human dignity we appeal to the Government not to allow this to happen. We are aware that already some foreign firms have applied for permission and facilities to start the recycling of garbage and producing energy out of this source. We feel that it is time for the Government to explore this avenue as a solution to the problem of garbage, which will become more and more intense as time goes by. Urgent action is solicited from the Government on this matter and we appeal, once again to kindly avoid transferring the garbage to Ja-Ela in the first place.

Courtesy:The Island