PAGES 48 / SECTIONS 5 VOL. 02 – NO. 34 SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020 Maintain Distance, Stay Safe www.themorning.lk epaper.themorning.lk FINAL CALL ON www.aruna.lk epaper.aruna.lk POLLS THIS TESTING FOREIGNERS FLEE THE GOOD, WEEK: TO HOLD TEST CSE WHILE BARGAIN BAD, AND OR NOT? KITS HUNTERS CASH IN UGLY »SEE PAGES 8 & 9 »SEE PAGE 3 »SEE BUSINESS PAGE 1 »SEE PAGE 7 GARBAGE CONTAINERS AT PORT AND FTZ Stenchpending. Even aftercontinues the containers are The next date for the case was on 3 waste inside them could come out and Authority (CEA) found that some BY MAHEESHA MUDUGAMUWA repatriated to its origin, the case will April but had been postponed due to destroy the environment. Therefore, private parties had imported around The 240-odd containers of imported garbage, which created continue," Centre for Environmental the coronavirus situation in the country, the garbage containers should be 241 container loads of waste to the a major controversy last year, are yet to be repatriated and Justice (CEJ) Chairman Attorney-at- Dabare said, adding that the next date repatriated,” the CEJ Chairman noted. country without the approval of the are lying at the Colombo International Container Terminals Law Ravindranath Dabare told The is yet to be fixed. However, the court case would be CEA, breaching the provisions of (CICT) and the Katunayake Free Trade Zone (FTZ), The Sunday Sunday Morning. According to him, the repatriation continued despite the repatriation of the the Basel Convention. It was later Morning learnt. He said the court, when the case of garbage containers was one of the garbage containers as the culprits should revealed that the waste consignments was taken up on 4 March, as per a requests made by the CEJ to the court be punished to avoid such incidents were imported from the UK and were "The court ordered to commence made by the Attorney General’s (AG) request made by the AG Department, and the latter had not opposed to the taking place in the future, Dabare added. lying at the CICT and Katunayake the repatriation process when the case Department. But the final decision on ordered the repatriation process of repatriation process. “We can’t keep Last year, Sri Lanka Customs FTZ since 2017. was taken up in March on a request the court case filed by the CEJ is still these containers to its origin – the UK. the garbage containers here as the (SLC) and the Central Environmental Contd. on page 2 GOVT. TO PROCEED WITH ARUWAKKALU ONLY BASIC SALARIES FOR NURSES Too costly to cancel Letter to Minister Despite vehement opposition by construction waste, and ash created Environmentalists raised a red about situation: TU environmentalists and residents in as a by-product of power generation. flag over the Aruwakkalu Waste BY SARAH HANNAN Ministry of Health and Indigenous Puttalam, the Government has decided The initial plan was to deposit Management Project since its inception, Medical Services about the grievances to go ahead with the Aruwakkalu Waste garbage collected daily in the Colombo claiming that the project would The All Ceylon Nurses’ Union of nurses in state hospitals. Management Project launched by the Metropolitan Region, which was to be affect highly sensitive and important (ACNU) has recently written to the Contd. on page 2 previous Government. transported in train carriages to the biodiversity in the site that was selected Cabinet approval was granted for landfill after being compressed at a for the project; this adjoins the Wilpattu a proposal made by Prime Minister transfer station in Kelaniya, adjoining National Park, Kala Oya, Puttalam Mahinda Rajapaksa to continue with the Main Line and the Kandy-Colombo Lagoon, and Thabbowa Sanctuary. the project, to deposit solid waste, highway. Contd. on page 2 FIND YOUR DAILY ESSENTIALS THROUGH ADHERENCE TO HEALTH GUIDELINES EC, HEALTH AUTHORITIES MEET Election cost to Guidelines topads.lk double to Rs. 14 b? ready VISIT BY SKANDHA GUNASEKARA costs to increase substantially. “We haven’t received the Health The new health guidelines Ministry guidelines yet, but it seems for polls could double the cost of holding that the costs will increase twofold The Ministry of Health had www.topads.lk elections to around Rs. 14 billion, at the least, due to the additional formulated a draft of the guidelines the Election Commission (EC) health and safety measures,” he to hold the parliamentary election predicted. said. under pandemic conditions, with EC Director General Saman Sri At present, the election is the next meeting with the Election Ratnayake, while emphasising that estimated to cost between Rs. Commission (EC) scheduled to be this wasn’t an official calculation, 6.8-7 billion. held tomorrow (18). said that he expected the election Contd. on page 2 Contd. on page 2 STEPS Search for the product EMPLOYMENT TERMINATIONS IN PVT. SECTOR you need on topads.lk TUs lock horns Contact the mobile number mentioned with Government below the product z No official terminations: Govt. z Terminations continuing: TUs Get it delivered to your Despite the large-scale Wasantha Samarasinghe must properly intervene employee terminations told The Sunday and amend existing home through the seller seen in the last two Morning that employee laws to ensure no more months within the private terminations were still ad hoc terminations are sector, the Government continuing and that allowed,” Samarasinghe insists that no official change in legislation was said. terminations have been essential. He went on to say that made following its “Even though the over a million would instructions. Department of Labour be unemployed due to Inter Company had instructed not to Covid-19 if the trend Employees’ Union terminate, it is still being continued. (ICEU) President done. The Government Contd. on page 2 #stayhome #staysafe #groceryitem #vegetables #fruit #deliveredtoyourdoorsteps 2 the sunday morning NEWS Sunday, May 17, 2020 BY AGRA RANASINGHE People in Koggala and Chilaw have complained to the authorities about beach erosion and have sought a solution from the Losing their beaches Government. z Koggala and Chilaw z Authorities say looking z Impact cushioned by As The Sunday Morning learnt, one and a half kilometres of the residents complain into the issue tourism closure Koggala Beach near the Koggala Police Station and Sri Lanka Air There are various solutions Force, Koggala as well as the thanks to many international Chilaw Beach have been eroded. researches which address According to the National beach erosion. One such Healthy Beaches Campaign solution is re-nourishment (NHBC) of the US, beach erosion of the area which can protect is defined as the actual removal the public and private of sand from a beach to deeper structures behind the beach water, offshore or alongshore, into inlets, tidal shoals, and bays. She further said that impacts of Erosion can be caused by many beach erosion have affected the factors and one of the particular country's economy and tourism as concerns is the impact that climate well. change, which not only causes sea "The impacts include disruption levels to rise but also increases of transportation systems; the severity and possibly the erosion leads to road systems frequency of harsh storms, has on being disrupted. For example, beach erosion. the Katunayake Highway Considerable erosion can be could erode to the point of seen along the southwestern flooding and collapse. It was coastline of Sri Lanka through a very unwise move by the stormy conditions during the Bandaranaike administration to southwest monsoon period, move the expressway to go across but it has now been identified Muthurajawela to secure a voter as recovering, during the fair base, as opposed to the original northeast monsoon conditions. plan. In addition, with salt water However, similar to the Koggala seeping into freshwater systems and Chilaw beaches, some isolated and people losing land, people areas in Sri Lanka seem to show have to move inwards, into the considerable erosion. country, which could lead to When contacted, the Koggala conflict in the future since we are Police stated that the beach stretch a small island,” she noted. near The Long Beach Resort impact a lot of people because them. I think the Government put of the Koggala Beach and 100 She added that the best showed considerable erosion and there were no guests in the hotel a stone barrier in this area a long metres of the Balapitiya Beach ways to combat this include that the state officials had visited due to Covid-19. Nevertheless, the time ago which is not effective have been eroded and the rising We have already allocated mangrove conservation and, more the location to come up with a first step of solving the problem at present. It’s heartbreaking to sea waves have become an issue Rs. 9 million for the Koggala importantly, by enforcing the solution for it. was carried out by some state see the Government not being in the Kahawa Beach. We have Beach project and Rs. 7 buffer zones through legal and However, the Koggala Beach officials on 13 May. However, proactive and concerned about already allocated Rs. 9 million for million for the Balapitiya Police-led methods, as well as by Hotel Manager told The Sunday that was just ‘part A’ of the whole this. Our country can reach the the Koggala Beach project and Beach project. Apart from creating awareness. Morning that if there were guests plan. There’s a lot more to be highest level of tourism as we are Rs. 7 million for the Balapitiya that, we are in the process of There are various solutions in the hotel, this problem would done,” the Manager stressed. not lacking anything. However, Beach project.