HDFC Bank celebrates World Habitat Day

Commemorating World Habitat day on 7 October, HDFC Bank organised a special panel discussion with the view of communicating the message of this year’s Habitat Day theme ‘Frontier Technologies as an Innovative Tool to Transform Waste to Wealth’ and to make the general public aware on proper waste management and to spread the message to a larger community.

Accordingly, with the collaboration of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, a two-hour discussion program named ‘Sathyekshanaya’ was held in front of an audience at the SLBC, Colombo. 

The panel included Prof. Ajith De Alwis – Project Director – The Coordinating Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (COSTI), L.S. Palansooriya, Chairman – NHDA, Madhawa Waidyaratna – Additional Secretary (Megapolis) – Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development, Palitha Nanayakkara – Municipal Commissioner – CMC and Eng. J. M. U. Indrarathne – DDG (Waste Management) – Central Environmental Authority.

Indu Weerasoori, Project Manager (Urban) represented UN-Habitat at this event. HDFC Bank Chairman Dr. R.H. Meewakkala, GM/CEO Palitha Gamage, COO M.K. Nambiyarooran, AGM (Business Development and Marketing Himali Gunathilake, AGM (Treasury) C.R.P. Balasuriya, Chief Manager (HR) Nimali Botheju, Chief Manager Aruna Bandara and the other bank officers participated at the event. At this discussion on transforming waste to wealth, the municipal solid waste management system of local authorities in Sri Lanka was discussed, aimed at helping the people understand the sustainability of a solid waste management system and the current performance of the waste management procedure used by the Balangoda Urban Council was revealed.