Garbage Talk …
Posted on October 8th, 2018
Dr Sarath Obeysekera
(Rome is burning, Nero plays fiddle ….? OR are our rules fiddling with sentiments of the people ?) )
Yesterday’s TV news showed Colombo Mayor (rests) Talking rubbish .She was asking President and PM to intervene in resolving the problem, where SLLRDC is refusing to accept CMC garbage to Muthurajawela Site.
CMC should be thankful to SLLRDC for accepting to allow dumping of garbage despite many protests from public and environmentalists sometime back.
Ugly site of dumping ground is also visible to all travelling to and from airport even after authorities try to cover the ugly scene by installing a net by side of the highway.
During my time in SLLRDC I had various issues with then Mayors’ of Colombo when it comes to illegal constructions and dumping garbage .I hardly could meet the mayor as the chairman even if I had requested time to meet .
One lady engineer from CMC was the only person who was willing to help the projects, specifically the Canal Development Project .
CMC not only keeps a blind eye against illegal constructions along road reservations, canal banks aggravating flood control problem.
Main problem we have today ,is all the Mayors who are mainly close confidantes of the PM or President think that they are above all and try to undermine authorities who are from other ministries.
CMC earns millions, but waste the funds to pay their idling staff, Whole CMC is full of corrupted officers .Mayor should at least come to SLLRDC and discuss with the Chairman and agree on a payment plan to ease the problem.
Verbal abuse by the mayor that SLLRDC is seeking a kappam” would not only and insults the public officers , but also illustrates the nakedness of the government where decision making, is lacking.
One call from PM from Norway ( where I incidentally worked for three years where Oslo Mayor and Government never exchange such dirty Salvos) or another call from HE ( From Seychelles ??( where I was in few months back to see how clean and beautiful that country is) to the Mayoress of elite class from Colombo 7 and tell her in uncertain terms that SHE has to move her butt from their mighty seat of the Council ,move around in area like Colombo 15 where deprived people live and help the Corporation to solve the problem .
Main problem we are facing now is not the uncollected garbage, but nonexistence of decision making process ,and Tug of War between main parties which formed this Yahapalana state apparatchik.
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2017/07/18/garbage-and-rotting-country-with-overaged-politians/
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2017/04/24/garbage-fiasco-and-no-solution-in-the-horizon/
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2017/06/15/shangrila-is-angry-with-galle-face/
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2017/04/16/sri-lanka-rubbish-dump-deaths-still-they-dump-bbc/
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2017/04/18/garbage-problem-at-least-one-minister-talks-sense/
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2017/06/30/insult-to-premadasa-and-gotabaya/
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2017/06/12/wonder-of-asia-back-to-square-one-again-and-again/
If the decision makers read articles in the press and try to learn from people with experience, Garbage problem would have bearnt” long time ago.
October 8th, 2018 at 6:41 pm
I am no expert in this field, but like Dr. Sarath who perhaps is an M&E engineer giving his ideas on this subject, I too, would like to give my two cents worth.
Some time back I and my son-in law went to the Singapore authority’s office handling this subject and bought their book explaining how they set up their garbage disposal project on an island close to the mainland. That book explains with statistics and drawing of the project how they successfully tackled the problem. That island today is an eco friendly place where Singapore children go on picnics and enjoy. This was before the Meethotamulla disaster. After the incident I tried to set up a team of engineers consisting of well known achievers in the private sector to do something they have done in Singapore with the help of a company like Jurong Consultants ( I hope the name is correct) who are already in SL. I even met one of their representatives in Brunei in this regard. I was advised to meet Patali Champika who is in charge of the subject. However after hearing about the attempts being made by various politicos to take bribes I gave up the idea. However, couple of months ago while in SL I tried to meet the minister by going to his office and asking for an appointment to meet him as a Sri Lankan engineer who can offer some service. Though I made the request in two times in wring and also talking to his secretary, I never heard from his office.
I now read about the attempts being made to take garbage all the way from Colombo to Puttlam where it is supposed to be dumped in to lime pits. I am sure this will anger not only the residents around those pits but also those living near the railway lines all the way from Colombo to Puttlam when the trains starts polluting the air. So this scheme is going to be a flop after spending a lot of money.
The solution to my mind is to do something like what Singapore has done. Their model will not work here as we cannot find an island close to western coast and also our sea is rough, but we can sort the garbage and burn the solid part as they do and send the degradable part on barges to a dumping ground constructed at a suitable point on the western coast. This can be constructed in an eco friendly manner by extending the shore in to the sea in stages. I understand this sort of thing is done in the Maldives. I think the politicians should take their hands off in this exercise as nothing will work when their interests get mixed up with this national endeavour. We are ready to give our ideas if called for.