Ban of polythene & plastics stays

President Maithripala Sirisena reiterated that there is no change on the policy decision taken by the government on the ban of polythene and plastics. He said the Central Environmental Authority will be responsible for the implementation of that decision properly and speedily.

The President was speaking at the progress review meeting of the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment, held yesterday at the auditorium of the ministry.

“Similar to the way that the government is performing for the ban of asbestos and tobacco, the decisions will be taken against the polythene which is a major environmental hazard”, he said.

He pointed out the importance to change the attitudes of the people regarding this decision taken by the government for a better future of the country.

During the discussion, the attention was paid on the progress of the programs implemented by the institutions under the ministry. They discussed about the future plans of these projects. The progress of utilization of the allocated funds was also evaluated at this meeting.

President also inquired about the providing of the drinking water and the water for agriculture during this dry weather conditions. The attention was paid on issuing of water from the main reservoirs of the island.

The officials explained that the steps were taken to provide facilities to collect water for agriculture as the water has been issued from Moragahakanda Project. They discussed about the program carried out to solve the drinking water problem in the areas closed to Anuradhapura.

Pointing out that the Uma Oya tunnel was a bad example, the President emphasized the importance of following proper technical evaluations in building of Moragahakanda – Kaluganga tunnel.

The President had asked for a report on the buildings which belong to the ministry and not in use now. They discussed about a making a plan to convert them into tourist bungalows and generate earnings. Attention was paid on providing those buildings for other government institutions.

During the discussion, they paid attention on using sea sand for the constructions of government buildings to give example to the people for using sea sand for construction activities.