Many politicians too get their Million cuts from garbage dumped

Apr 23, 2017

Meanwhile, Susil Kidelpitiya has viwed not to allow garbage to be dumped in Kolonnawa where he was raised. He said thuggery and force was used to silence the protesters and the issue was never resolved by the government. 

Hence he said all subject ministers should take responsibility for this incident and if they have any self respect they should resign from their posts. He insisted that S.M. Marikkar should resign from his post as the areas party organizer. He further accused the Chairman and all officials of the Solid Waste Management  Authority who have done nothing to address this issue and urged the Urban Commissioner  reveal all fraudulent dealings and corruption that is taking place. In the event that he fails to do so, Kidelpitiya threatened to take legal action against the Commissioner. He pointed out that MP Hirunika Premachandra too had raised the issue of garbage being dumped in Kolonnawa and added that he did not care where the garbage is dumped as long as it is not dumped in Kolonnawa. 

 

Lanka News Web talks with Mr. Kidelpitiya more about these ,  

 

What is the current status of the garbage issue?

 

This issue has been going on for years and the proper management of garbage disposal is a responsibility of the relevant local government bodies. The dumping of garbage has temporarily halted now. As a person living in this area I too am of the view that Colombo’s garbage should not be dumped in Kolonnawa. We need to seek permanent solutions to this issue. I also believe that instead of haggling  with technicalities, the people affected by the tragedy should be compensated in a fair manner. 

 

Sarath Fonseka is now a prominent minister in the government. So why is he not commenting on this issue?

 

Sarath Fonseka is not someone who had any political goals. He is only concerned and greedy for power and money but he does not care two hoots about the people. It is because I eventually understood his true nature that I decided to leave his party. How can someone with no proper policy talk about the garbage issue.

 

Who are the people dealing with the Meethotamulla garbage dump?

 

The problem here is the garbage that is being brought to Meethotamulla from Colombo. We can manage the garbage that is being discarded from the Meethotamulla area. Normally the two companies that bring the Colombo garbage to the Meethotamulla dumping site and these two companies are being paid Rs. 250 million monthly. Many politicians too get their cut from this Rs. 250 million. No one has any desire to resolve this issue they only want to profit from it. Even if they bring in foreign investors they will do so securing profitable deals for them. This is a business deal between the CMC officials and the politicians. 

 

Can you name those responsible for this tragedy?

 

Those responsible for this catastrophe are the CMC, UDA, all Western Province Chief Ministers, Central Environmental Authority, the President and Prime Minister. In fact none of these people can wash their hands off the responsibility of what happened. 

 

There is speculation that the garbage dump collapsed due to the spraying of some chemical, is this true?

 

An enzyme was sprayed to mitigate the stench emanating from the garbage dump. Under the Kotikawatte, Mulleriyawa grama Niladhari area management projects Rs. 5 million was obtained for the setting up of a garbage disposal unit. Of that Rs. 900,000 was spent on spraying this enzyme to get rid of the bad smell. Other than that nothing else was done and the government should conduct an investigation on this matter. 

 

Do you know of any drug business that was connected to the garbage issue?

 

Although we mention drugs and garbage as issues affecting Kolonnawa, there is no direct connection between the two. However both drugs and garbage are issues that plague Kolonnawa. Most politicians of the area had dealings with these drug dealers at some point or the other. They survived by their blessings and both the politicians and drug dealers were in cahoots with each other. Hence all those who claimed to eradicate drugs from this area had no intention of doing so and only hoodwinked the people as they were already in the pockets of these drug dealers.

 

AshWaru Colombo