Kelani river water issue in Sri Lanka
An inspection programme conducted by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has found that eight factories in the Colombo and Gampaha Districts function without Environmental Protection Licenses (EPLs) in violation of the national environmental act of the country. The waste water treatment plants in these factories it is learnt is not at the level of the required standards.
The Sunday Leader questioned the CEA as to what actions they have taken so far to protect the natural water sources of the country which is being contaminated by industries with Environmental Protection License (EPL) that was issued by them.
Responding to the questions the chairman of the CEA Professor Mervin Lal Dharmasiri said the investigations are underway against the law violating companies.
“After Coca Cola Beverages Sri Lanka (CCBSL) contaminated the Kelani river with 4-methylimidazole, a cancer causing chemical the CEA is being vigilant in inspecting the factories that were located along the Kelani River Bank to arrest and prevent any such incidents in future as to save the environment from the law violators. We also instructed the factories to be vigilant about such incidents,” the CEA claimed.
Sixty-seven factories along the Kelani River bank were inspected (from 2015.09.08 till 2015.10.14) and their water samples have been tested, along with the waste water treatment plants. Accordingly, 33 companies in the Colombo district and 34 in Gampaha, 59 factories’ water treatment plants were according to national standards of the national environmental act.
However, eight factories in the Gampaha and Colombo districts allegedly continue to function without Environmental Protection License (EPL’s) while they violate the national environmental act of Sri Lanka as their waste water treatment plant was not at the level of the required standards. The CEA has warned the factories and investigations are being conducted on law violating factories.
The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) and the Disaster Management Center of Sri Lanka (DMC-SL) have joined forces in carrying out laboratory examinations, water inspections and investigations over the law violating industries along the river banks claimed the CEA.
Meanwhile, some of the factories did not have a proper emergency plan to arrest such incidents in case of emergencies hence we stressed the necessity to submit a proper “Emergency Preparedness” Plan to the CEA. The CEA also instructed the factories to have the fuel plants safely as to prevent any accidental environmental pollution the CEA went on to say.
The waste water treatment plant of some factories along the river bank were not properly built as to dispose the wastage, hence the CEA instructed them to develop the constructing of the land where the factories were located.
Meanwhile, The Sunday Leader questioned the Police regarding the issue and the action taken against the law violators, Responding to the questions the Media Spokesperson ASP Ruwan Gunasekara said, “There is a separate environmental protection division (EPD) in the police which is supervised by the Director of the unit and the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)to ensure the safety, hence we have arrested 7 people from Wattala area for dumping wastage into Kelani River and 13-15 people from the Moratumulla area for polluting the Bolgoda River during last week.”
He also claimed that there is a separate EPD in all the police stations around the country to protect the environment from the law violators and carry out investigations and observations on the companies which were accused of polluting the environment.
Apart from the Police Department, the Police Marine Division is also engaged in protecting the environment as they recently arrested some individuals who were dumping wastage into the river, they also carry out raids and investigations on environmental pollution issues in the nation.
When questioned about the arrest against the people instead of the industries which contaminate the river water with large amount of risky chemicals and the air with waste smoke, he said that the section 98 does not include legal provisions to arrest them but to file cases against them in the magistrate’s courts therefore, the courts verdict will decide on what should be done for the law violating factories since they have all the legal documents which were approved and provided by the respective authorities of the country.
He further stated that there are several pending cases regarding the environmental pollution by some of the factories in the country. Even recently one of the law violating companies in Kalutara area had polluted the air and the Kalu Ganga River with its wastage dumping and people had complained about it therefore, the police started an investigation and began to observe closely as to prevent any such environmental pollution and public nuisance.
He also claimed that after recording the statements from the residents in the area they have forwarded the test reports and the observation reports of the accused factory to the magistrate courts.
The water resources in the country are being continuously contaminated by irresponsible companies and despite the highlighting of many environmental issues in the country, relevant authorities seem to have adopted a lackadaisical attitude when initiating action against the violators of environment laws. There are many authorities to protect the river and the water source in the country the CEA, NWSDB, apart from them civil societies and environmentalists express concern over environmental issues and especially public to compliant about any such inconvenience for them.
The first generation right of an individual in the country is to get water for bathing and drinking purposes free of charge and all institutions in the country have agreed to the basic human rights of an individual but, people are not given the freedom to enjoy the privileges of that human right. A petition was therefore submitted by a group of environmentalists to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka regarding the issue of water contamination.
There are many rules and regulations to arrest and take legal action against violators of environmental laws, be those industries or individuals. However, the question is whether they are implemented and effective.
Not only rivers but also the river banks are contaminated by many factories located along the rivers in the country and as a result of the contamination, the Kumbuk, Attikka and Lee trees, some of the natural purifiers of the river water, are being damaged and their growth has been reduced during the past few years. The reduction in the growth of these trees will result in the reduction of rain fall and water for rivers. There are 103 large rivers and 100,000 lakes categorized as large lakes, Dana lakes (used for irrigational purposes), Olagam lakes (used by wild animals in the forests), village lakes and several other categories in the country. These water sources should be protected by the relevant responsible authorities in order to save them from any environmental pollution.
As a result of the failure in saving the natural water of the country, the provincial councils in the Bandarawela area distribute 118,000 litres of water every day for the residents as they do not have access to ground water, claims the environmentalist Ravindra Kariyawasam adding that the relevant authorities should pay more attention and speed up the implementation of solid solutions