{"id":178148,"date":"2017-05-31T17:07:25","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T11:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=178148"},"modified":"2017-06-01T13:24:08","modified_gmt":"2017-06-01T07:54:08","slug":"court-orders-arrest-of-chunnakam-power-plant-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/court-orders-arrest-of-chunnakam-power-plant-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"Court Orders Arrest Of Chunnakam Power Plant Officials"},"content":{"rendered":"

The pollution of groundwater through the alleged dumping of waste-oil\u00a0by the Chunnakam Power Plant<\/a>, a subsidiary of Walker and Sons and a\u00a0contractor for the Ceylon Electricity Board, has been litigated for\u00a0some years now. Issues were whether the water is really polluted, and\u00a0if so by whom.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Yesterday, Tuesday 30 May, the Mallakam Magistrate, A.\u00a0Judeson, ordered the police to arrest the officials of the Power Plant\u00a0responsible for this pollution and produce them in court on the next\u00a0date of hearing, June 27<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

In addition he ordered three things:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Fresh drinking water be supplied to people living within a 2 km\u00a0radius of the power station.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Since it is suspected that the polluting oil in the groundwater is\u00a0moving northwards, officials in charge of the environment should have\u00a0their attention drawn so as to facilitate suitable remedial action.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Complaints by the public should be examined by such environmental\u00a0agency officials in collaboration with water supply and drainage and\u00a0health officials.<\/p>\n

Following the Magistrate\u2019s determination, a puzzled member of the\u00a0public asked how the Expert Panel appointed by Northern Provincial\u00a0Council concluded that there is no pollution. He also wondered why the\u00a0NPC appointed experts with no expertise relevant to examining the\u00a0purity of water. Moreover, one of the experts so appointed by the NPC,\u00a0a Dean at University of Jaffna, has a conflict of interest in the task\u00a0assigned since he had been a consultant to the power company. Besides,\u00a0having no knowledge of analysing water, why did he accept the\u00a0assignment?<\/p>\n

An Analytical Chemist, who had once been in charge of testing water\u00a0served to visiting state dignitaries for potability, said that\u00a0although the tests are simple, statistical and sampling errors are\u00a0common and at least two independent labs must do the testing\u00a0separately for rigorous confidence.<\/p>\n

Concluded a Water Engineer, the Expert Panel Report merely delayed\u00a0this urgent addressing of the needs of the public, now thankfully\u00a0ordered by the Magistrate. (By Muraleetharan Puvinathan)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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