Stinking garbage dump filled to capacity

Kandy is facing a major problem with regard to the disposal of garbage as the existing dump is full and the Kandy Municipal Council (KMC) is unable to find a new dumping ground for waste collected from the municipal area. The present garbage dump in the Harispattu Pradeshiya Sabha area has also become a menace to the residents in the area who have been long requesting that waste disposal there be stopped.

As a result, the KMC is planning to introduce a recycling project in the near future to dispose of garbage in the Guhagoda Thekkawatta garbage dump, Kandy Mayor L.B. Aluvihare said.“We have discussed with the relevant ministers regarding the project but still the suggestions we received were not practicable to be implemented in that area,” he said.

One hundred families live in the 32 acre land alongside the garbage dump which spreads over 12 acres. Continuous dumping of garbage for a long time had made it full even though it was cleaned three years ago.

“There is no other location to dump garbage. We are aware of the situation, but our only option is to recycle the garbage and continue using the place,” the Mayor said adding that the KMC is planning to dig one side of the land and fill it with garbage and then do the same to the other side of the land.

Harispattu Pradeshiya Sabha chairman Ananda Jayavilal said the garbage dump had become a huge problem not only to residents in that area but also to those in neighbouring areas as well.“There are filters to filter the dirt but they no longer work. So, the garbage overflows and seeps into the Mahaweli Ganga,” he said.

As there is no other place, all Government institutions in the area too dump garbage at Thekkawatta. A resident who preferred to remain anonymous and living by the Katugustota road told the Kandy Times that the garbage dump stinks all the time and sometimes it was difficult to breathe as well.

“The smell is unbearable if it is windy and on rainy days the whole area gets dirty due to the garbage dump,” she said. “To an outsider, it seems like we are not keeping our houses clean. It stinks that much as though the smell comes from within our houses,” she said.