Focus On Rubbish, Not Airports
By Cassandra Mascarenhas
Common sights: filthy public toilets and dumpsters overflowing with rubbish
The re-election of President Mahinda Rajapaksa at least comes with the certainty that he will continue with the major infrastructure schemes that he commenced during the first term of his presidency. The major schemes started during his regime include the Hambantota Harbour (which on November 15, 2009 was 15% complete), the Hambantota International Airport, the expansion of the Colombo Port, the construction and expansion of railways across the country and the building of various flyovers and bridges.
As important as all this is in the grand scheme of things, how does it currently serve the people? The government seems to only concentrate on large projects with no thought given to the everyday lives of the common people whose lives would be greatly improved by some small-scale, short-term infrastructure rather than by harbours and airports, which to them currently serve little or no purpose.
A good example of such small-scale infrastructure would be the upgrading of the public toilets, most of which are currently in a disgraceful and almost unusable state. There is really no shortage of them in the city and they are surprisingly easy to find – you just follow your nose. The public toilet located in the Maharagama supermarket for instance, is in a particularly deplorable state. Small and dark with damp, crumbling walls and unwashed floors accompanied of course by the fragrant smell which wafts through every public toilet – only in this case ten times stronger. Venturing in there is not for the faint-hearted.
It was pleasing to note, however, that just a few metres from the supermarket was another public toilet located within the bus depot which, while not being in amazing condition, was at least clean and actually usable, the reason for this being a grizzled old man who dutifully washes and maintains these toilets. This shows what a difference one dedicated attendant can make. The refurbishment and proper maintenance of these public toilets would have a great impact on the lives of people, as hundreds use them every day even in their appalling state.
Another common problem in the country is the mounds of garbage which can be found every couple of kilometres along the roadside or on a strip of bare land somewhere. Overflowing dumpsters and rubbish accumulating in canals and clogging drains are environmentally unfriendly, a health hazard and are too common a sight in the country. Many people have to live miserably alongside garbage, especially those who live in shacks along the canals, which often results in them contracting diseases and suffering from other problems.
An initiative on the part of the government to urge municipal councils to dispose of garbage properly and install trash receptacles along the roads are simple changes that would make a great difference and improve the overall state of cleanliness and quality of life.
Road transport accounts for 93 percent of transport in Sri Lanka and much effort has been made over the past couple of years by the President to improve many of the major highways or the Class ‘A’ roads in the country, especially in the south. However, the smaller, less central roads have been ignored and remain narrow and in poor condition. The general public is more likely to use these roads for day-to-day use than the main road that leads to Hambantota which of course is in excellent condition. And it does seem unjust that the smaller and more heavily used roads are not in the same good condition that the main highways are in.
All the above-mentioned issues are ones that are deemed minor and small-scale and are therefore not paid much attention as the extension of ports and building of airports is considered a bigger priority for the infrastructure of the country. These problems, however, are those that affect the peoples’ day-to-day lives and are equally important for the overall improvement of the country. So here’s hoping that the President will give these issues some priority at least the second time around.
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Although a very short article the essence is very high. In SL, we have A,B,C,D class roads. The A and B class roads are under Roads Development Authority (RDA) of SL and all the C class roads are under Provincial Councils and a part of the D class roads is under the Provincial Councils and the other part is under the Pradeshiya sabhas. All those roads (well planned under the British Administration) were under the RDA. In December-1989 the C&D roads were handed over to the Provincial Councils. As you mentioned in your article the priority must be given to the C and D class roads as they need General Upkeep and Improvement very urgently.There are some C and D class roads which are not belonged to any Authority and they should be entered to road registers. I found such type of roads in Nawalapitiya electorate ete.The entire roads (C & D) net work in the Plantation areas should be up-graded. The bridge structures in C class roads in Nuwaraeliya district should be replaced or upgraded urgently.
In ref.to FLY OVERS we did a price comparison with the recently commissioned Barj Dubai(Kalifa) and we found that our Authorities wasted vast amount of resources constructing them.I found two very valuable articles on this regard from the Island newspaper.
1.A case for Concrete Bridges and Flyovers by Gamini Ranasinghe, Auckland, New Zealand.28/09/2009
2.Bridges and Flyovers by Amor Patriae ete
Ultimately those Flyovers were not a Feasible solution for the background or situation and the Hon.President was misguided by some people around him.
There are very senior engineers to be consulted before making a decision such as Mr.Chandrasena and Mr.Thilak Wilak Wijesinghe ete. The Hon.President could get their contact details from the Institution of Engineers,SriLanka.
My ultimate conclusion is the C&D class roads must be handed over back to the RDA that means the entire Roads Net work in SL should be handled by the RDA. The RDA has very well experienced Engineers,Technical Officers and Supervisors as same as over 5000 new recruites(Political) as excess labour. This labour should be utilized for the benefit of the Nation. If the Grama Rajyas will be installed they will monitor their micro road projects in corporation with the RDA.
I think I widened your article further to suit our local Conditions.
P.L.J.B.Palipana, P.Eng
SURREY,BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
I travelled from Colombo-Wellampitiya-Banku Handiya through the bus routes 140 and 164. I could bad smell the garbage gardens from the bus.
Most of the slums in the Colombo city belong to minorities(Tamils & muslims) and the sanitory facilities are terrible to think once again as I am living in BRITISH COLUMBIA,CANADA now. I can’t remember the living conditions of the lines in the Plantation Industry.
My home town kandy is the same. Kandy consists of lot of slums of which the vast majority belong to minorities.The sewerage system of the Kandy hospital is overflowing to the nearby roads and during the rainy season the kandy town is a “Jara apayak” for everybody.There are water shortages(pipe lines) at least two times per month. The dirty smelling main toilets are used by prostitues as hotel rooms.The railway line is alse used as toilets.The main market is not used to the requierd standards and smelling bad like a hell.
But our politicians are fighting for power.