Blood and water
Editorial-October 17, 2013
The Rathupaswala water problem which led to public protests, resulting in three deaths is not yet over. There have been sporadic demonstrations since the brutal crackdown in August and attempts are still being made in some quarters to politicise the issue. It was only the other day that the police stopped a vehicle procession purportedly aimed at raising public awareness of water-related issues in the Gampaha District. Members of a pressure groups cobbled together to mobilise the public to obtain clean water and force the closure of a glove factory blamed for polluting water are now fighting among themselves.
It is reported that President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to be apprised of the findings of a scientific study of water contamination in Rathupaswala next week. Opinion is sharply divided on the issue, and when the much-awaited probe report is out in a few days, the public will know the real causes of water pollution and whether the glove factory is the real culprit. This time around, we hope, the report to be submitted to the President will be made public without being shelved.
A lot of blood has been spilt in Rathupaswala but people are still thirsting for water. They have been promised pipe-borne water but at a cost. Let the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) provide water connections free of charge or at nominal rates to the affected people by way of compensation. If the government is wise, it will ensure that the NWSDB does so, on humanitarian grounds. That is the way to assuage public anger and ensure justice is done. Since the government is showering, with a generous hand, tax concessions and various other incentives on rogues of all sorts there is no reason why the NWSDB cannot waive the installation charges or reduce them substantially. Moreover, the government ought to bring in tough laws to prevent factories being set up in residential areas and monitor waste disposal in industrial zones so that the question of the public blaming, rightly or wrongly, factories for water contamination does not arise.
Meanwhile, people faced with a severe water problem are protesting in the Uva Province (consisting of the Moneragala and Badulla Districts). Their consternation is understandable; water sources are drying up owing to the encroachment of the upper catchments of major waterways and springs, upon which they are dependent for potable water. Protesters blame plantation companies for clearing the forest cover and destroying springs in the process. This is a very serious situation which needs to be rectified urgently.
About 13 rivers and streams are said to start from the mountains of Uva and among them are the Kirindi Oya, the Uma Oya, the Badulu Oya and the Menik Ganga. Besides encroachment and illicit felling, the planting of alien trees such as pines and eucalyptus is also said to have taken a heavy toll on the catchments.
Uva Chief Minister Shasheendrakumara Rajapaksa’s efforts to protect the threatened catchments have reportedly run into stiff resistance from the errant planters et al. We don’t know the legal implications of the issue, but the fact remains that either the Uva Provincial Council or the government, or preferably both, must swing into action to put an end to land grabs and the mindless environmental devastation caused by a few businesses to further their commercial interests.
As Badulla District Secretary Rohana Keerthi Dissanayake has rightly pointed out there exists a pressing need for a comprehensive integrated programme to conserve water resources throughout the country. The Department of Agriculture, the Central Environment Authority, the Forest Conservation Department, the Surveyor General’s Department, the police and other state institutions ought to put their shoulder to the wheel and help protect the catchments. Action is called for before any more blood is shed.
