Police use water cannons to disperse people protesting garbage dump

Police on Sunday (24) used water cannons to disperse a group of people protesting the presence of a massive garbage dump in their neighborhood in a suburb of capital, Colombo.

Residents in the Meethotamulla area of Kolonnawa held a protest in front of the dump site, and demanded the authorities to give them assurance in writing that the disposal of solid waste in their neighborhood would be halted.

The residents have staged protests several times in the past asking the authorities to remove the site where the solid waste collected from the city of Colombo is disposed. The mountains of garbage have collapsed in the past destroying the nearby homes and some of the residents had to be evacuated.

According to the councilors of the Kolonnawa Urban Council, the Colombo Municipal Council is dumping more than 1,500 tonnes of garbage daily at the 16-acre Meethotamulla site.

Chairman of the Kolonnawa Urban Council recently filed a complaint against Colombo Municipal Council Mayor A.J.M. Muzammil with the Human Rights Commission with regard to the solid waste disposal.

In his complaint the UC Chairman said the houses of more than 5000 people living in the area are now prone to flooding due to the dump site and it poses health risks to the residents, especially in the rainy season. He complained that the Colombo Mayor is being negligent towards the plight of the people.