Sri Pada environment should be kept clean and tidy- CEA

The Central Environment Authority (CEA), under its special programme of cleaning rivers, lakes and streams countrywide, yesterday requested Sri Pada pilgrims to refrain from destroying the environment by dumping used plastic cans, bottles, polythene papers and unnecessary objects during the forthcoming season.

Speaking to the Daily News CEA Director General Hemantha Jayasinghe said the CEA, with the assistance of workers and environmentalists, every year spend colossal sums of money to clean Sri Pada mountain area of unnecessary objects such as polythene papers and plastics.

Jayasinghe also focused attention towards cleaning the sacred Sri Pada mountain area from now onwards, by collecting used polythene papers, polythene bags and discarded empty plastic bottles that have already been thrown elsewhere by pilgrims who visit Sri Pada even during off-season.

According to a survey, tens of thousands of devotees visit this holy mountain annually, and many of them are in the habit of littering the Sri Pada vicinity with discarded polythene papers and empty plastic cans.

Jayasinghe further said people should refrain from littering garbage in this mountain area, as many major rivers, including the Samanala River originate from this mountain reserve.

He said everybody knows that Samanala Nature Reserve has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Director General Jayasinghe therefore made a fervent appeal to all pilgrims to take the unnecessary objects back to their homes.

“People could also handover their waste to collection centres that are maintained by Local Government bodies, private institutions and Volunteer organisations,” he said.

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