Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith heeding representation made by Fishermen and People’s Organisations distrubed by the large scale dredging of sand from seashore for the filling up of the Port City, appealed to authorities to address their concerns.

The text of Cardinal Ranjith statement;

Representations have been made to me by fishermen and people’s organisations in the Negombo and Dikowita coastal belt, expressing grave concern at the massive dredging of sand from seashore planned for the filing up of the Port City Project. They are terrified about the huge operation now being prepared for this and the possible ecological disaster that might happen within this area. They also state that already the areas in which the fish lay the eggs and are breeding grounds are being severely affected by this sand mining.

I too am seriously concerned about this project as it might affect not only the livelihood of our fishermen, but also cause ecological damage to the coastal areas and affect the continental shelf drastically. I therefore make this appeal to the President and the Prime Minister to take a good look at this project once again and to address the concerns of the fishermen, whose livelihood will be negatively affected. I am also told that large areas of the coastal belt South of Colombo are undergoing erosion. Hence, I would sincerely call for a frank discussion between the Government and the fishermen’s organizations in order to address their concerns.

This problem arose in the first place as result of the previous Government rushing into the relevant agreement without a proper environmental impact assessment. It is not too late even now to rectify the situation for the sake of the future well-being of the fisher folk and the environment.

Courtesy:The Island