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Aruwakkalu sanitary landfill: Piling protests

06 Oct 2019

Residents of Serakkuliya and its environs were up in arms last week when they found that garbage was not being scientifically deposited, as promised by the authorities, in the Aruwakkalu sanitary landfill, but was instead dumped just like in other sites in Colombo and its suburbs. The residents claimed that they have to suffer the unbearable stench emanating from garbage dumped in the site due to it not being properly segregated or treated. They alleged that the Government had forcefully deprived them of the right to breathe fresh air. At the same time, residents alleged that the garbage was not appropriately disposed of and was instead thrown into the site where it became an eyesore. Another dumping ground “Are they now trying to make this place another dumping ground? Tonnes of waste are already piled up at dumping grounds, which has posed a major risk to our health,” Gihan Buddhika, a resident of Serakkuliya, lamented. He told The Sunday Morning that the authorities had earlier promised the residents that this wouldn’t be another dumping site but a new sanitary landfill which would have no stench, no leachate, or any environment pollution. However, residents claim that the opposite was taking place. “The residents in all nearby villages, especially in Serakkuliya and Karathivu, have to suffer this unbearable stench,” he stressed. “Earlier, there were methane pipes, but now all those pipes have collapsed. On a usual day, around 40 vehicles come to Aruwakkalu to dump garbage.” The Aruwakkalu waste management project was launched by the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development in 2017, immediately following the Meethotamulla tragedy that occurred on 14 April 2017 which claimed the lives of 32 people and left eight persons missing. The tragedy underscored the urgency of developing and implementing a long-term sustainable solution of waste disposal for Colombo. Under the project, the Ministry has decided to set up a mega waste recycling park on 25 acres of abandoned quarries in Aruwakkalu, north of the Puttalam District. Following the Cabinet approval for the project, the construction work of the waste facility was launched last year. According to the Metro Colombo Solid Waste Management Project (MCSWMP), the proposed landfill in Puttalam was not another garbage dumping site but a scientific garbage depositing site. The garbage was supposed to be deposited in the abandoned quarries as slabs. The garbage from Colombo to Puttalam were to be transferred via train and, as per the project, about 1,200 tonnes of garbage was supposed to be transferred per day from Colombo to Puttalam, once the project was completed. In addition, the Ministry assured that there was no village near the garbage depositing site, and the only village nearby was situated 300 m away from the site. Reiterating that the project would be environmentally friendly and economically feasible, the MCSWMP said the garbage would be compressed at the Kelaniya transit point before it was loaded in containers. It was proposed to accommodate garbage for 10 years, but it could be used to deposit garbage for another 50 years to come. However, within a few months since the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) started dumping garbage in Aruwakkalu, all promises made by the authorities are slowly being forgotten as the site is turning into another Meethotamulla, with piles of garbage being dumped without any treatment and the stench beginning to spread from the dumping site, yet again paralysing the entire residential area with unbreathable air. Yet another disaster Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Fr. Christy Perera in Wanathawilluwa stressed that the impact of the garbage dumping in Aruwakkalu is now been seen from the nearby lagoon, where fish have started to die as the lagoon was also affected by the leachate of garbage. “This will affect the entire community which depends on fishing in these lagoon areas,” he stressed. However, the residents in Serakkuliya together with Fr. Perera had recently met the President at his office, where the President had also promised them that the dumping site would be a scientific one like the ones in Singapore and Malaysia and, therefore, there would be no issues in the future. In addition to the threats posed to the nearby lagoon, a rise in human-elephant conflict (HEC) cases had also been seen in the area. As Fr. Perera explained, the elephants have started to come to the nearby village as the stench emanating from the dump spread to the Wilpattu area. “The elephants are coming in search of food but end up in cultivations. Recently, there were incidents where they had damaged the buildings. Fortunately, there is no damage done to the people as of now,” he stressed. As Fr. Perera said, the President had also recently assured the community that the garbage would be deposited in Aruwakkalu in a scientific way like in Singapore or Malaysia. “But now, it’s the opposite,” he stressed. “The main reason why elephants are coming to villages is because of the stench,” Fr. Perera added. All villages adjoining the Wilpattu National Park, including Serakkuliya, Karathivu, Gangewadiya, and Eluwankulama, are in danger now, he added. Meanwhile, Environmental Conservation Trust (ECT) Director Sajeewa Chamikara told The Sunday Morning that the project would affect highly sensitive and important biodiversity in the site selected by the Minister, which adjoins the Wilpattu National Park, Kala Oya, Puttalam Lagoon, and the Thabbowa Sanctuary. Even though two environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports were prepared in this regard, none of the reports address the real environmental issues of the project, he said, adding that the project was just another dumping site like Karadiyana and Muthurajawela and not a scientific waste recycling park as trumpeted by the Ministry. The Government should treat the garbage before it is dumped in any sort of scientific pits. But in Sri Lanka, the proposed project would not treat the garbage in Colombo before transporting it to Puttalam, and without treating them, it is impossible to deposit garbage in a pit in a scientific way, he stressed. “They said they are going to compress the garbage, remove the moisture of the waste, and transport it to Puttalam. But as far as the environmentalists are aware, the site is an open area and once the garbage is deposited, the garbage is exposed to rainwater and paves the way for leachates. Even without rainwater, during the deteriorating process, the moisture released makes it possible for the build-up of leachates,” he said. The EIA report has not mentioned how excess water such as rainwater would be released. As a result, rainwater would directly flow into the Kala Oya or Puttalam Lagoon, Chamikara added. It was also reported that the Government was planning to promote Kalpitiya as a tourist destination. But with a garbage dumping site in Puttalam, how could a government promote such an area as a tourist destination, Chamikara stressed, adding that the Government should launch a waste recycling/treating plant in Colombo rather than creating another Meethotamulla in Puttalam. “Residents in Puttalam have a right to oppose the project as it could directly affect their livelihoods in the future. The project might not have any immediate impacts, but in the future, it could pose huge threat to the environment as well as the people,” Chamikara noted. However, when queried, Wanathawilluwa Divisional Secretariat Assistant Director – Planning Maduwanthi Attanayake said the plan was to dump garbage according to international standards. “Many complaints are being recorded by the Divisional Secretariat regarding the garbage issue, and now, people don’t trust the authorities and they look at the project in a suspicious manner,” she stressed. The blame game However, when contacted, Wanathawilluwa Divisional Secretary Chathuraka Jayasinghe accepted that there was a stench emanating from the garbage dumping site. He said he communicated the issue to Secretary to the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development Nihal Rupasinghe through the District Secretary. Meanwhile, Secretary Rupasinghe said that necessary steps had been taken by the Ministry to control the situation, which was unexpected due to the heavy showers that prevailed in the area during the last few weeks. “There was a lag between the dumping of garbage to the site and loading it into a separate place, and during that time, the garbage was exposed to heavy showers, which was the reason for the stench,” he stressed. “Currently, the Ministry is taking necessary steps.” He also noted that the present issues would not be there once the garbage was transport by train. According to the Secretary, the responsibility for the issues related to the transportation of garbage should be taken by the CMC.

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