{"id":176741,"date":"2017-04-28T01:57:11","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T20:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=176741"},"modified":"2017-05-02T14:33:14","modified_gmt":"2017-05-02T09:03:14","slug":"the-garbage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-garbage\/","title":{"rendered":"The Garbage"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda<\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda<\/p><\/div>\n

The garbage issue\u00a0has\u00a0surfaced\u00a0a discussion in the social media\u00a0which in my view is a positive sign.\u00a0I believe,\u00a0the politicians who rule the country during the last decades\u00a0bungled\u00a0the garbage\u00a0issue,\u00a0due to their negligence and\u00a0selfish motives.\u00a0It appears\u00a0that our country\u2019s policy\u00a0and\u00a0decision\u00a0makers\u00a0never\u00a0saw it as problem that had\u00a0to be\u00a0urgently\u00a0resolved.<\/p>\n

On the\u00a0contrary, during the last decade\u00a0they saw garbage\u00a0as an industry,\u00a0that\u00a0had to\u00a0be\u00a0developed\u00a0in a manner,\u00a0to\u00a0increase a\u00a0regular\u00a0flow of\u00a0income,\u00a0to politicians and their stooges.<\/p>\n

When the\u00a0Meethotamulla\u00a0garbage mountain\u00a0exploded with loss of life,\u00a0these politicians\u00a0happily\u00a0put the ball on\u00a0one another\u2019s courts\u00a0and exploited\u00a0the\u00a0situation,\u00a0to\u00a0take\u00a0political\u00a0advantages.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0citizens\u00a0should not\u00a0be duped and be carried\u00a0away by\u00a0their polemics\u00a0but\u00a0ought\u00a0to\u00a0engage\u00a0in\u00a0constructive\u00a0discussions\u00a0and\u00a0resolve this major problem.<\/p>\n

There are several issues\u00a0that\u00a0needs clarification.\u00a0Undoubtedly,\u00a0the collapse of the garbage mountain\u00a0at\u00a0Meethotamulla<\/a>\u00a0created\u00a0an emergency situation. The government\u00a0was faced with the\u00a0huge\u00a0responsibility\u00a0of\u00a0swiftly\u00a0clearing\u00a0up\u00a0the garbage piling up in\u00a0the streets of\u00a0Colombo.<\/p>\n

Let us grant\u00a0for a moment\u00a0that the\u00a0Executive\u00a0President\u00a0on account of the\u00a0constitution,\u00a0has\u00a0the authority\u00a0to\u00a0declare\u00a0garbage clearing as an essential service.<\/p>\n

We believe, however, that\u00a0the response of the government\u00a0in this matter\u00a0entails\u00a0unresolved\u00a0issues.\u00a0One question is why the decision to dump garbage was taken in Colombo,\u00a0without\u00a0consulting the people\u00a0who will be\u00a0affected\u00a0by this, living outside Colombo.<\/p>\n

Even at a time of emergency, some degree of consultation with the affected people cannot be ignored. \u00a0If\u00a0constructive discussions\u00a0had taken place\u00a0with the people concerned, then\u00a0this chaotic situation would not have arisen.<\/p>\n

The President and the Prime Minister may have\u00a0sought the views of\u00a0some district parliamentarians and they may have given the ok.\u00a0However local\u00a0people now\u00a0strongly\u00a0believe,\u00a0as it was in the past, even the present parliamentarians\u00a0are not\u00a0the\u00a0true\u00a0representatives of ordinary citizens.<\/p>\n

Some\u00a0even have criminal records and others\u00a0known\u00a0to\u00a0represent\u00a0members of the underworld,\u00a0selfish land grabbers and\u00a0crooked\u00a0businessmen.<\/p>\n

Had they genuinely represented the interests of the ordinary citizens, how on earth could they recommend\u00a0Muthurajawela\u00a0as a dumping\u00a0ground?\u00a0This is\u00a0an environmentally protected site\u00a0by Gazette notification\u00a0(detailed\u00a0below).<\/p>\n

Another\u00a0important\u00a0issue that needs clarification is\u00a0whether the government was morally correct in depriving the people\u00a0their\u00a0right to defend their human rights in protesting, when garbage was dumped where they live,\u00a0in\u00a0areas such as\u00a0Piliyandala,\u00a0Dompe\u00a0and\u00a0Jaela.\u00a0The Government had not published any health and safety guidelines.<\/p>\n

I need to confess that I am not very familiar with\u00a0Piliyandala\u00a0or\u00a0Dompe\u00a0but possess some knowledge about the villages in\u00a0Delatura\u00a0and\u00a0Bopitiya. These are towns located in the proximity of\u00a0Muthurajawela, which is a very environmentally\u00a0sensitive area.<\/p>\n

It is of common knowledge that\u00a0Muthurajawela\u00a0is a sanctuary\u00a0declared\u00a0by\u00a0a gazette notification\u00a0No.\u00a0947\/13 in year\u00a01996. As\u00a0this\u00a0is\u00a0made a protected area, causing any\u00a0harm\u00a0to the flora and fauna was punishable\u00a0offence.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, many ordinary citizens have been taken\u00a0to task\u00a0on several occasions\u00a0for\u00a0minor violations\u00a0of this Act,\u00a0such as cutting down a branch for domestic purpose\u00a0or\u00a0even\u00a0taking a basket of sand etc.<\/p>\n

Therefore, in my view the decision taken by the government\u00a0to dump garbage in these areas\u00a0is a violation\u00a0of the\u00a0decree\u00a0promulgated by the government itself.<\/p>\n

Was the\u00a0recent\u00a0gazette\u00a0notification\u00a0of the President in accordance\u00a0with\u00a0the\u00a0constitution?\u00a0The\u00a0constitution has given\u00a0the people the\u00a0right to protect their livelihoods and their\u00a0material\u00a0sources\u00a0such as the rivers,\u00a0lagoons\u00a0and land.<\/p>\n

Have\u00a0the scientists at the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and \u00a0National Aquatic Research Authority (NARA) all financed by the taxpayer, advised the Government Minister of the Environment who is also our\u00a0President\u00a0on the\u00a0resulting\u00a0impact of dumping\u00a0300\u00a0tons of\u00a0garbage on a\u00a0daily\u00a0basis,\u00a0on this marshy land?<\/p>\n

Any person with common sense would know that garbage dumped will seep into\u00a0the\u00a0water streams, wells and the lagoon.\u00a0Unavoidably,\u00a0it will cause numerous health hazards to the people living in these\u00a0neighborhoods.\u00a0Isn\u2019t\u00a0this a violation of human rights?<\/p>\n

The affected people\u00a0in this case\u00a0are two Catholic communities.\u00a0The\u00a0involvement of the\u00a0two\u00a0parish\u00a0priests\u00a0of\u00a0Delatura\u00a0and\u00a0Bopitiya\u00a0was and is\u00a0commendable. Both stood\u00a0firmly\u00a0with their communities\u00a0throughout\u00a0their\u00a0period\u00a0of protest.\u00a0Their protest was frequently supported by\u00a0visiting\u00a0priests\u00a0and nuns and the Buddhist monk of a nearby temple. These leaders guided their communities\u00a0to express their opposition peacefully without\u00a0having recourse to\u00a0violence.<\/p>\n

For three days the clergy; the priests, nuns\u00a0and\u00a0Buddhist monk, supported\u00a0the peoples\u2019 protest it\u00a0was a towering source of strength\u00a0and\u00a0much\u00a0appreciated\u00a0by all residents.\u00a0The\u00a0clergy\u2019s presence amidst the local people\u00a0prevented\u00a0party politics from entering\u00a0and causing unnecessary divisions in the community.\u00a0Nobody could bring\u00a0about\u00a0any accusation that the\u00a0Rajapaksha\u00a0loyalists were instrumental in organizing this\u00a0protest\u00a0to embarrass the\u00a0Yahapalanaya government.\u00a0The whole activity in my view\u00a0was in line with \u201cpeople power\u201d. In fact\u00a0I identified\u00a0two local\u00a0level rival politicians\u00a0working quiet\u00a0harmoniously. In that sense\u00a0the\u00a0spirit of solidarity among people was remarkable.\u00a0That is the kind of spirit that should prevail\u00a0always\u00a0in people’s struggles.<\/p>\n

The Catholic Church ought to be in the forefront of\u00a0struggles aimed at protecting nature and the environment.\u00a0She\u00a0ought to always follow the\u00a0path\u00a0of Creation Care\u00a0in keeping with\u00a0the wise\u00a0teachings\u00a0and guidance\u00a0of Pope Francis.\u00a0For some reason, the Church could not mobilize its resources against the construction of Colombo Port City which is continuing to destroy the sea by sand mining and the interior of the country by rock mining.<\/p>\n

Pope\u2019s recent encyclical\u00a0\u201claudato\u00a0Si\u201d\u00a0invites the Christians\u00a0and also\u00a0others\u00a0all over the world\u00a0belonging to various\u00a0religions and philosophies,\u00a0to\u00a0collaborate in protecting\u00a0nature.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis\u00a0urgently appeals\u00a0for\u00a0\u201ca new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all\u201d.<\/p>\n

He wants us to recognize the harm we have\u00a0already\u00a0inflicted on nature,\u201cby our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":63177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-176741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Garbage - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-garbage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Garbage - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-garbage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-27T20:27:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-02T09:03:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Sarath-Iddamalgoda.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"256\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-garbage\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-garbage\/\",\"name\":\"The Garbage - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-garbage\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-garbage\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Sarath-Iddamalgoda.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-27T20:27:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-02T09:03:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-garbage\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-garbage\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-garbage\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Sarath-Iddamalgoda.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Sarath-Iddamalgoda.jpg\",\"width\":\"200\",\"height\":\"256\",\"caption\":\"Fr. 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