Women from fishing community protest against Port City
Women from the fishing community across Sri Lanka’s western coastline gathered in their thousands on Tuesday in a strong protest against the Colombo Port City which is aggravating their livelihoods.
Protesting nun
They congregated at the Cardinal Cooray Centre in Negombo to issue a clear warning to the government that the ambitious project named the Colombo Financial City should be stopped. The protest was led by the Catholic priests and nuns of the area and headed by Rev. Fr Sarath Iddamalgoda, mentor of the People’s Movement against the Port City.
The protesting fisher-women paraded along the main Chilaw Colombo trunk road chanting slogans against the Port City Project in front of the Negombo Police Superintendent’s Office where a heavy contingent of police was present and the water-canon engines ready to attack protesters, if things got out of control.
Speaking to the Business Times, Fr. Iddamalgoda said that their organisation has been silent since October 2016 due to the government trying to drive a wedge between agitating fishermen and others who support the project.
“Now we are stronger leading the campaign by priests and nuns in front and women fisher folk would be leading and organising the whole campaign,” Fr. Iddamlgoda said.
Fishermen across the western coast have been raising concerns over the billion-dollar project which they say affects coastline fishing and results in environmental degradation.
The protesting women would visit community service organisations, civil society and other organisations such as trade unions aimed at uniting them together. The campaign would also address victims troubled by development projects like Uma Oya to awaken them to the impending grave disaster and commence lobbying with the government authorities.
Prof. Jinadasa Katupotha, former Lecturer of Geology, Vidyodaya University who has studied the whole project, warned that the disaster would be 10 times greater than the Uma Oya and during monsoon currents could eat into the Galle Face Green and even destroy the oldest tourist hotel – Galle Face Hotel.
Once the Port City project is completed the entire passage of land that separates sea and lagoon leading from Kerawalapitiya to Negombo would be washed off and the sea water would swamp the Bandaranaike International Airport, he alleged.
He said that the government says something and does something else and indicated that while coming from Piliyandala he saw several spots of marshy land being reclaimed though the government said that all reclamations were banned.
He said there are several high-rise hotels that are coming up on the seaside of the Colombo city. He saw only one hotel whose structure could withstand an earth tremor of 6.4 magnitude in the Richter-Scale and with the Port City completed, these hotels are also in danger.
Protesting fisher-women chanting slogans vowing that they would not allow their children to be ‘room-boys’ and ‘prostitutes’ once the project is established.