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Oil bowser also carried goda from distillery
Beruwala police officers checking the bowser that carried Goda
A bowser owner who was caught releasing effluent from a distillery into the sea in Beruwala was imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000 and severely reprimanded by a magistrate.
Beruwala police said the man who transported fuel for the Lanka IOC in his bowser used the same bowser to collect distillery effluent, locally known as goda, to dispose of it in the sea for a payment from a distillery in Moragalla.
They said police officers on patrol early on Tuesday in the beach area found goda from a 19,000-litre-capacity bowser being emptied into the sea. The bowser had been parked near a restaurant and the hose directed towards the sea. Imposing the fine, Beruwala Magistrate Bharathi Wijeratna, severely reprimanded the man for polluting the beach and the environment.
Residents said the arrack distillery was earlier dumping effluent in the Kaluwa Modara River but discontinued the practice after public protests. They said that due to the pollution, they saw a reduction in the number of crocodiles, water monitors and fish in the nearby marshes.